President Biden stepped up pressure on Congress to codify Roe v. Wade protections into federal law after Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked consideration of a bill that would establish a federal right to birth control.
“@VP and I believe women in every state should have the freedom to make very personal health care decisions,” Biden wrote in a post on social platform “X,” referring to Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We will continue to fight to protect access to reproductive health care, and we call on Congress to restore Roe v. Wade protections to federal law,” Biden continued.
The primary bill, the Right to Contraception Act, failed in a floor vote by 51 to 39. A bill needs the support of 60 senators to get a floor vote.
The bill, which Republicans have argued is overly broad and unnecessary, would guarantee individuals the legal right to obtain and use contraception and health care providers the legal right to provide contraception, information about contraception, referrals and services related to contraception, including hormonal contraception, the morning-after pill, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and other methods of birth control.
It would also prohibit federal and state governments from enacting or enforcing any laws, rules, or regulations that prohibit or restrict the sale or use of contraceptives.
The focus on contraceptive rights comes amid Democrats’ election-year push to focus on reproductive rights, a particularly salient issue among American voters and a political weak spot for Republicans.
Republicans have been struggling to communicate their position on reproductive rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and Democrats wanted Republicans to publicly take a stance against such efforts.
Polls consistently show broad bipartisan support for contraception: 88 percent of Americans say contraception is morally acceptable, according to Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs Poll released last year.
More recently, a February Impact Research poll commissioned by the American Birth Control Association found that contraception mobilizes voters who are currently less enthusiastic about voting, including young Hispanics, female voters and black voters.
In a March pollAccording to the health research group KFF, one in five Americans believe access to contraception is under threat.
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