#Senate #Republicans #obstructed #legislation Wed to enshrine a #FederalRight to #access #contraception.
The vote on the #RightToContraceptionAct was 51-39, falling short of the 60 votes needed to defeat a #filibuster & move forward. Republicans said the bill is unnecessary as the use of #BirthControl is protected under #SCOTUS precedent [as if #SupremeCourt precedent means anything anymore].
#law #VoteBlue #FamilyPlanning
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-republicans-block-bill-protect-americans-access-contraception-rcna155448
#Republicans Lisa #Murkowski of Alaska & #SusanCollins of Maine voted w/ #Democrats in support of the bill. #Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, switched his vote to “no” for procedural reasons so he could bring up the bill again at a later date.
“We saw what the #SupremeCourt did on #abortion, & now there’s a real risk they may do the same thing on #contraception,” Sen #ElizabethWarren, D-MA, said.
#law #SCOTUS #Congress #FamilyPlanning #BirthControl #ReproductiveRights #VoteBlue
The legislation would establish nationwide #rights for individuals to “obtain #contraceptives & to voluntarily engage in #contraception” & protect #healthcare providers who offer it. It defines contraceptives as “any drug, device, or biological product intended for use in the prevention of pregnancy” & prohibits #federal or #state governments from enforcing #laws or standards that impede that right. It empowers the #DOJ & affected private entities to sue to enforce the new protections.
#Democrats argue the bill is necessary because #SCOTUS cannot be trusted to uphold its #precedent on protecting the use of #contraceptives in the 1965 case #GriswoldVConnecticut. They note that when the court invalidated federal #AbortionRights in 2022, Justice #ClarenceThomas wrote separately saying that the court “should reconsider” other precedents like the #contraception case. And they cite a recent survey that found 1 in 5 Americans believe the right to contraception is under threat.
#ClarenceThomas’s concurring opinion begins on page 117. On page 119 Thomas specifically states “in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process #precedents, including #Griswold, Lawrence, & Obergefell.”
#SCOTUS #Congress #law #privacy #FamilyPlanning #BirthControl #BirthControlRights #ReproductiveRights #BodilyAutonomy #access #VoteBlue
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf
@Nonilex ...feels like 5 citizens poised to undo what millions of Americans have understood to be rights, privacies protected by our laws / Constitution....slamming the brakes on progress made during the past many decades....dragging an unwilling & vast majority of Americans back into the dark, discriminatory, racist-inspired past we shook-off through hard fought efforts (still much to be done). this scotus debacle tops list of disasters of GOP leadership...finicky non-voters take note.
@havvyhh2 I mean, if millions of Americans misunderstood their government then that really says something about the state of education and journalism, which aren't within the Court's jurisdiction.
I'm sorry people misunderstood the world. We should address that. But it's not the role of the Supreme Court to bow to ignorance like that.
@volkris @Nonilex ....trust me, millions & millions of Americans are completely ignorant about how our gov't works...democracies only work with an informed public...SOME level of responsibility is demanded of citizens to ensure we keep our country, institutions, freedoms, sanity...for now & generations to come. The ignorant enjoying rights & privileges, like abortion, will find themselves shocked when they are nullified by these five unaccountable to anyone citizens. Imho.
@havvyhh2 nah. Democracy works fine with ignorant population. The people vote for stupid things and they get stupid things. That's democracy.
The point is that just because democracy arrives at a harmful outcome doesn't mean democracy is broken. The people are broken, education is broken, journalism is broken. But democracy might be working fine, garbage in garbage out, reflecting the ideas of the ignorant public.
The point is to put the finger on the actual problem to solve, not getting distracted by blaming the part that's actually working right.
@volkris @Nonilex ....I'm not saying dem'cy is broken. One can have a dem'cy, & due to ignorant/broken/lazy/apathetic/ electorate they elect people, who have been screaming "we will end dem'cy", who will end that dem'cy. You're right, tis a possible outcome of a working dem'cy. But responsibility to be informed, understand trade-offs is individual citizen's. Blaming journalism, education, ok, sure. But personal responsibility to know the stakes, choices, ramifications is key.