Republicans slammed the bill before the Senate on Wednesday afternoon, claiming that Democrats are “fear-mongering” about access to contraception to “score easy political points.”
“There is no threat to access to contraception because it is legal in every state and required by law to be provided free by health insurance companies,” more than two dozen Republican senators said in a joint statement.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York told senators on Sunday he plans to vote on a bill to protect contraception rights later this week, later announcing the measure was scheduled for Wednesday.
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Sen. Rick Scott joined more than 20 other Republicans in issuing a statement denounced the Democrats’ contraception bill. (Getty Images)
“This is not a show vote. This is a vote to show who we are,” Schumer insisted at a press conference Wednesday before the vote, responding to criticism from Republicans that party leaders were scheduling a vote on a message-making bill rather than a bipartisan bill that would have a better chance of moving forward.
Republicans have criticized the pending bill, the “Birth Control Bill of Rights,” saying it would “infringe on the parental rights and religious freedom of some Americans and allow the federal government to force religious institutions, schools and even public elementary schools to provide condoms and other contraception to young children.”
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Packages of the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B One-Step are seen in security packaging at a CVS Pharmacy in Washington on July 7, 2022. (Reuters/Sarah Silbiger)
“This is just another way Democrats use activist lawyers and the courts to push their extreme agenda, which is why we oppose this bill,” the senators argued.
The group is led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who is running for Republican leadership in the new Senate, giving Republicans a good chance to retake the majority in November.
Co-signers of the statement include Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (ND), Ted Budd (ND), James Lankford (R-OK), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (RD), Cindy Hyde Smith (R-MS), Katie Britt (R-AL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), John Thune (RD), Lindsey Graham (ND), Thom Tillis (ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Steve Daines. R-Mont.
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Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts speaks during a press conference about contraception rights legislation in front of the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in Washington, DC, United States. (Eric Li/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Additionally, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, the peak pro-life group, sent a letter blasting the bill, arguing that “this bill seeks to guarantee funding to abortion providers by prohibiting federal and state governments from redirecting contraception funds to life-affirming providers. Thus, abortion doctors and abortion facilities are entitled to taxpayer funding even if a state’s representative government redirects funds from abortion providers to life-affirming providers.”
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“Life is the human rights issue of our time and a pivotal issue in the 2024 election,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life USA, told Fox News Digital in a statement. (Drew Ungerer/Getty Images)
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“Democrats’ deceptive Planned Parenthood bill has less to do with access to contraception and more to do with funneling taxpayer money to the abortion industry and suppressing dissent. Contraception is legal and available in every state, and Congress funds contraception each year through numerous federal programs,” the group’s president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, said in a statement.
The bill is unlikely to reach the 60 votes needed to move forward when a motion to adjourn the session goes to a vote on Wednesday.
