Sen. Chuck Schumer touts Right to Contraception Act. Here's more on the bill.
NEW YORK -- Sen. Chuck Schumer has kicked off a new fight to win passage of a bill guaranteeing a woman's right to obtain birth control, a right that is limited or outlawed in more than half the country.
Schumer knows how to count votes and he knows that mobilizing women around the issue of reproductive rights could be crucial to both the 2024 presidential campaign and the Democratic party's attempts to keep control of the Senate and flip the House.
"I am very, very worried that if Donald Trump prevails he will appoint more MAGA judges to the Supreme Court against the right to choose," Schumer said.
What is the Right to Contraception Act?
The issue brought Schumer to a park in SoHo on Wednesday to tout the Right to Contraception Act, a bill that guarantees a women's right to obtain birth control.
June 24 will mark two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving it up to individual states to determine if a woman has the right to get an abortion. While some states like New York support abortion access, others restrict or ban it. As a result, it has emerged as a key issue in the 2024 the presidential and congressional elections.
"This will be one of the most important issues in the presidential campaigns and make no mistake about it, Joe Biden is fully for women's reproductive rights. Donald Trump has opposed them time and time again," Schumer said. "I want to tell our audience here and our greater audience in New York and America we will never relent until we reverse the immense damage the Supreme Court has inflicted on our country."
Schumer promised more legislative action in the weeks ahead.
Advocates target women in battleground states
A recent ad says in 2022, 195 House Republicans voted against the right to condoms, the pill and IUDs, adding since then GOP politicians have blocked or vetoed bills protecting birth control in more than 12 states.
It comes with a multi-million dollar ad campaign to mobilize women in battleground states. In total, 28 states limit access to birth control in some form. Of those:
- 12 states allow some health care providers to refuse access to contraception services
- 9 states allow individual health care providers to refuse access
- 7 permit pharmacists to refuse to dispense contraceptives
"Over 19 million woman across the United States live in contraceptive deserts. One million in New York live in contraceptive deserts. We need to codify the right to birth control through the Right to Contraception Act," said Rochelle Rodney, executive director of the New York Birth Control Project.
"Access to contraception is fundamental to out freedom and well being," said Wendy Stark of Planned Parenthood.