June 05, 2024

Duckworth Slams Senate Republicans for Blocking the Right to Contraception Act

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) slammed Senate Republicans for blocking the Right to Contraception Act on the Senate floor today. The legislation, which is co-led by Duckworth and U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), would guarantee the right for people to obtain and use contraceptives and for health providers to prescribe contraceptives as well as give information related to contraception, free from government interference. Ahead of the vote, Senator Duckworth called out extreme MAGA Republicans at a press conference for their anti-choice efforts that are putting birth control—including plan B, IUDs and other forms of contraception—under threat.

“In the nearly two years since the Supreme Court threw out Roe v. Wade, we’ve seen extreme MAGA Republicans across the country work to roll back health care and tear reproductive freedom away from Americans—which has cruelly put birth control, plan B, IUDs and other forms of contraception under threat,” said Duckworth. “The freedom to decide if, when and how someone becomes a parent should belong to every American. And yet, by blocking our Right to Contraception Act today, Republicans have made it clear that they are committed to continuing their anti-choice, anti-science crusade and exerting further control over women’s bodies. But this is not over—Senate Democrats will keep working to protect the right to access contraception, IVF and the reproductive freedom every American deserves, no matter their zip code.”

The vote comes at a crucial time as right-wing judges, U.S. Supreme Court Justices and Republican-led state governments work to restrict contraception access across the country. Some states have attempted to ban some or all contraceptives, and others have defined abortion so broadly so as to include contraceptives in abortion bans. Despite nine out of ten voters believing that birth control should be legal, Senate Republicans have blocked the bill from passing twice already, once in 2022 and again in 2023.

Throughout her time in the Senate, Duckworth has made protecting reproductive freedom a top priority in the face of Republicans’ anti-choice crusade. Duckworth is the author of the Access to Family Building Act and, in February, she led a group of Senate Democrats in calling for the bill’s passage through unanimous consent, only for Republican U.S. Senator of Mississippi Cindy Hyde-Smith to object and block Duckworth’s effort. This was the second time Senate Republicans blocked Duckworth-led legislation that would protect access to IVF nationwide. The Access to Family Building Act builds on previous legislation she introduced in 2022.

Duckworth was the first Senator to give birth while serving in office and had both of her children with the help of IVF. In 2018, she advocated for the Senate to change its rules so she could bring her infant onto the Senate floor.

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