Right to Contraception Act--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Right to Contraception Act. Now more than ever, it is vital to codify reproductive rights. The right to contraception is not merely a matter of health, but a matter of autonomy and equality. We must protect a women's right to access to reproductive care.

This week, the Senate will vote on the Right to Contraception Act. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, those opposed to reproductive freedoms have consistently acted to restrict and ban access to reproductive health care, including abortion, contraception, and even IVF.

In his concurrence in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, in support of decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas directly called into question the right to contraception as a logical outgrowth of the Dobbs decision. Since the decision came down, it has become clear that restrictions and bans on abortion are just the first step in withholding reproductive health care and access, preventing women and their healthcare providers making the best decision without government intrusion.

For almost 60 years, people have had the right to access contraception. In 1965, the Supreme Court ruled, in Griswold v. Connecticut, that States could not block married couples from being able to access contraception. This ruling paved the way for the 1972 Supreme Court decision in Eisenstadt v. Baird, expanding the right to contraception to unmarried people.

Despite these protections and 96 percent of voters supporting access to birth control, some lawmakers continue to attack this basic right. Just as with abortion, extremists are making moves to undermine and eventually eliminate women's right to access birth control.

Contraceptives offer substantial benefits to many women and families across America. Women's reproductive choices and economic opportunities are linked. Research demonstrates that when women are given more control over family planning and childbearing decisions, educational, career, and professional opportunities open up to them.

With the Supreme Court decisions on Griswold and Eisenstadt, access to the pill was associated with a 1.7 percentage-point increase in the margin of women in professional careers. The gender gap in the workplace can also be narrowed when women have access to the pill at a younger age. Women with access to contraception in their early 20s earned $2,200 more per year by their early 40s than women who were not able to have access to contraception.

Although access to the pill correlates to an increase in women in the workforce, it is important to remember that there are an estimated 19 million women of reproductive age who live in contraceptive deserts.

Various findings on the role contraception plays in the lives of women and families reiterate the value of ensuring women continue to have full access to a range of contraceptive services and methods. It is abundantly clear that improved access to contraception contributes to economic and educational advancement of women in the United States.

As a result of the Dobbs decision and due to systemic inequalities, communities of color, young people, immigrants, low-income, and LGBTQ+ individuals face the consequences of this abortion ban. These communities are more likely to experience additional barriers to accessing reproductive health care. Birth control ensures more people can access the future they envision for themselves and their families.

I am proud that Maryland has been recognized as the first State to mandate contraceptive coverage in 1998. My State has long been a leader in supporting and protecting reproductive rights. On April 14, 2023, Governor Moore announced that the State would begin to stockpile mifepristone. Maryland remains committed to remaining a safe haven for abortion and reproductive health care access.

However, even in Maryland, where State law protects the right to choose, in April 2022, Governor Larry Hogan vetoed the Abortion Care Access Act. This act expands reproductive health care by allowing additional trained health professionals, including nurse practitioners, midwives, and physician assistants, to perform abortions.

Fortunately, Maryland's Legislature overrode this reckless veto, and the law took effect July 1, 2022. In response, Governor Hogan went on to withhold millions of dollars in State funds that was designated for the Abortion Care Clinical Training Program. Thankfully, Governor Wes Moore released those funds on his very first day in office in 2023.

This November, Marylanders have a choice to vote in favor of further protecting abortion by enshrining the right to reproductive freedom in our State's constitution. This would further impede the ability of opponents to take away abortion rights in the future.

This week, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will call a vote for the Right to Contraception Act, a bill I cosponsored that will codify the right to contraception to prevent further restrictions on reproductive health services for all Americans.

It is time to protect the right to birth control, and access to it, for all communities. The Right to Contraception Act is an especially important safeguard for these marginalized communities.

While it is urgent that we pass the Right to Contraception Act, we must also move forward other legislation, like the Women's Health Protection Act, which would codify Roe v. Wade and prevent States from continuing to enact restrictions of reproductive freedoms.

This Congress, the Senate has also had to reel in colleagues who put our military in jeopardy by blocking the promotions of senior members of our military to protest the Pentagon's abortion policy.

Despite the notion that the Dobbs decision would be the end of judicial action on reproductive health by handing authority to individual States, we continue to see challenges to reproductive rights elevated to the Supreme Court. Last year, I signed onto a bicameral amicus brief for Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA to advocate for the FDA's appeal that supports nationwide access to mifepristone. In the next couple of weeks, we expect that decision, as well as one in a case challenging the legal obligation of doctors to provide life- stabilizing emergency abortion care. I am proud to have also signed an amicus brief on this case, urging Justices to ensure that emergency departments will also provide patients with the care they critically need.

Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked to dismantle barriers to women's health. The right to choose whether to have a child is fundamental, and it is a decision that should only be made by women in consultation with their healthcare provider, not with interference from Federal, State, or local governments. It is time for us to elevate the voices that truly know how much is at stake in the fight for reproductive freedoms. Lives are at risk in the generation and beyond.

We must vote to pass the Right to Contraception Act, and we must work every day until Roe v. Wade is the law of the land once again.

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