It’s a bit difficult to imagine not being able to obtain birth control in the United States. But back before the Supreme Court made it a right under the Constitution, each state got to decide if its citizens had the right to contraception. There was language in the Dobbs decision, however, that has liberals worried that the Supreme Court could overturn the right to birth control. The House just passed a bill to protect that right.
On Thursday the House of Representatives voted on a bill that would protect the right to buy and use contraceptives without government restriction. Eight Republicans, including Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Fred Upton of Michigan, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, John Katko of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Maria Salazar of Florida and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois voted with all the Democrats on the bill. 195 Republicans voted no.
Representative Kat Cammack of Florida addressed the Democrats about this bill, as Representative Lauren Boebert looked on:
The Right to Contraception Act says, in part that it will “protect a person’s ability to access contraceptives and to engage in contraception, and to protect a health care provider’s ability to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information related to contraception.”
Based on what Representative Cammack said, it appears that at least she is opposed to the bill because she says it’s solving a problem that doesn’t exist and is a waste of taxpayer money. She also tied it to the abortion issue.
“The right of married couples to buy and use contraceptives was established by the 1965 supreme court case Griswold v. Connecticut. The understanding of that decision subsequently has been expanded to include unmarried individuals, reports Rolling Stone. Prior to that, states could ban and even criminalize the use of contraceptives. The Griswold case challenged a Connecticut law that “banned the use of ‘any drug, medicinal article or instrument for the purpose of preventing conception.’ The law punished people who offered advice or counseling on birth control as severely as the offenders who actually used it.”
Most House Republicans voted no on this bill. Liberals will say that is because they want to turn the United States into a version of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Republicans say they just don’t want to pass unnecessary laws. What’s your position?