[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 4, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3947-S3948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Right to Contraception Act
Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I rise today because reproductive freedom
is under attack.
In 2022, Donald Trump's far-right Supreme Court took away the
constitutional right to an abortion, completing the Republican Party's
decades-long plan to overturn Roe.
In some States, the Court's decision revived abortion bans that had
lain dormant since the 1800s. In other States, the decision triggered
new abortion restrictions prewritten to go into effect the very day
that Roe v. Wade was overturned. The results have been horrific.
But here is the thing the Republican Party missed: From Kansas to
Ohio, to California, reproductive rights are popular. Americans
overwhelmingly support the right to an abortion, the right to IVF, and
the right to contraception. In fact, these rights are so popular that
Republicans want you to believe they support them, but their actions
speak for themselves.
First, Republicans said they wouldn't overturn Roe v. Wade. Donald
Trump and his extremist Supreme Court did, and Trump is still bragging
about it. Now, over 20 States have banned or severely restricted
abortion access, passed laws criminalizing doctors who perform
abortions, or threatened access to pregnancy care, miscarriage care,
fertility assistance, and more.
Then Republicans claimed they wouldn't go after IVF. Just this year,
Alabama's Supreme Court virtually outlawed IVF in the State, and just a
few weeks later, my colleagues in the Republican Party blocked Federal
legislation that would protect access to this care.
Now, the Republican Party is saying they won't go after
contraception. Well, that makes sense since 92 percent of Americans
support birth control. But, guess what, Republicans now have
contraception in their sights, and they are even trying to redefine
what constitutes contraception. Sure, they support contraception--ah,
but not an IUD; or they are all for contraception--hmm, but not Plan B.
[[Page S3948]]
Contraception is a must, except Republicans in Congress have a bill,
the ``Life at Conception Act,'' that would give an embryo so-called
personhood rights, which would outlaw abortion, outlaw IVF, and, yes,
outlaw some forms of contraception. That bill has the majority support
of the Republican caucus, including Speaker of the House Mike
Johnson. On top of that, Republicans blocked Democrats from passing
this very same bill to protect the right to contraception last year.
But tomorrow, every Senator will have to say where they stand, proving
that no matter what Republicans say about wanting to support
contraception, when it comes down to it, they won't.
Tomorrow's vote should be a turning point. It is time we take these
Republican lawmakers at their word.
Millions of people across this country are already experiencing a new
form of hell thanks to Donald Trump and the extremist Supreme Court
that overturned Roe, and Black, Brown, and low-income communities are
feeling a disproportionate impact.
So, now, as Donald Trump continues to push for a nationwide abortion
ban and says he is ``looking at'' contraception, Democrats are standing
up and fighting back. Already, President Biden and Vice President
Harris have taken a series of steps to strengthen access to affordable,
high-quality contraception and adequate access to reproductive
healthcare more generally.
Tomorrow, I will be joining my Democratic colleagues, led by my
partner Senator Markey and by Senator Hirono and Senator Duckworth, in
voting for the Right to Contraception Act. Birth control is safe,
effective, and an important part of reproductive healthcare.
It is time that we fight back against the Republican war against
reproductive freedom. It is time we codify the right to contraception
into law.
I am furious that millions of women have lost fundamental rights. I
am furious that their freedom to make their own decisions has been
taken away by a small number of extremists. I am alarmed by what the
extremist Supreme Court and congressional Republicans are prepared to
do to unravel a future of protection for women under a Republican
Presidency.
This is about the right to make decisions about our own bodies and
our own futures. It is all on the line, and we need these protections
written into law. That is what tomorrow's vote is about.
I don't want to hear from Republicans who say they support
contraception but can't make it the law of the land. If they really
support contraception, then they will vote yes on the bill that comes
up tomorrow. If not, actions speak louder than words. They will
demonstrate that it is not only going after abortion, it is not only
going after IVF, it is also all about going after contraception.
These are the decisions women should make for themselves. They should
have the freedom to do that. These are not the decisions that should be
made by extremist Republican lawmakers.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
19th Amendment
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, 105 years ago today, this Chamber did
something truly historic: It passed the 19th Amendment to secure the
right to vote for American women.
The amendment's ratification by the States 1 year later marked the
largest enfranchisement in U.S. history, extending the vote to 26
million Americans.
This incredible achievement fulfilled more than 70 years of tireless
efforts by brave suffragists to make our country a more perfect Union,
including many Tennessee women: Abbey Crawford Milton from Chattanooga,
Ida B. Wells from Memphis, and Anne Dallas Dudley from Nashville.
On this anniversary, I am especially reminded of Febb Burn of Niota,
TN. In the summer of 1920, the Tennessee General Assembly was in a
heated debate about whether Tennessee would ratify the 19th Amendment.
At the time, 35 States had already voted to ratify the amendment, so
only 1 more was needed to make the 19th Amendment the law of the land.
On the day of the vote in Nashville, Febb Burn wrote a letter to her
son, Harry Burn, the youngest member of the Tennessee State
Legislature. She urged her son to support the amendment. She wrote:
Hurrah and vote for suffrage and don't keep them in doubt.
At first, Harry pinned a red rose--the symbol of the anti-suffragist
movement--to his shirt and voted to table the amendment in back-to-back
deadlocked votes, but with his mother's letter in his coat pocket,
Harry ultimately listened to her advice, switched his vote, and
switched to a yellow rose on that lapel, making Tennessee the 36th and
final State to ratify the 19th Amendment.
As the first woman to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Senate, I have
a special appreciation for the women who fought this fight, and I have
worked to honor their legacy and advance their cause. But as we
remember the suffragists on this anniversary, it is important to
recognize that women are still fighting for a seat at the table and
recognition for their achievements.
Look no further than the National Mall right here in our Nation's
Capital. This 2-mile stretch of land--America's front yard, as it is
known--honors our Nation's history and ideals with monuments,
memorials, and statues of incredible Americans who have made tremendous
sacrifices to make our country a more perfect Union. Yet, among the 40
monuments, not 1 is dedicated to American women.
That is why, alongside Senator Baldwin, I introduced the bipartisan
Women's Suffrage National Monument Location Act, which would finally
secure a monument honoring women's history on the National Mall. This
monument will commemorate the women's suffragist movement, the passage
of the 19th Amendment, and the incredible women who fought to secure
the vote for millions of Americans.
The House unanimously passed this legislation in November. Now the
Senate should vote to make this memorial a reality and honor the giants
who paved the way for generations of American women.
I urge every Member of this Chamber to join Senator Baldwin and me in
supporting the Women's Suffrage National Monument Location Act.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.