07.27.22
Senators Ernst blocks Senators Markey, Murray, Hirono, and Duckworth’s Right to Contraception Act following passage in House
***WATCH: Senator Murray calls out Republicans’ extremism***
(Washington, DC) – Today, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), sought unanimous consent to pass the Right to Contraception Act to protect every American’s fundamental right to use birth control—but Republican Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) blocked the common-sense legislation. Senators Markey and Murray pushed to quickly pass their legislation with Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) following passage of companion legislation in the House of Representatives last week—despite nearly the entire House Republican conference voting against the bill.
“It has been nearly sixty years since the Supreme Court decided Griswold v. Connecticut—and affirmed Americans’ right to privacy and with it: their right to contraception.