[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 5, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S3970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Right to Contraception Act

  Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, 
it was a wake-up call for all Americans. It demonstrated that a 
fundamental right, the right of women to make decisions over their own 
bodies, could be taken away in the blink of an eye--the blink of an 
eye--by anti-choice extremists.
  And since that decision nearly 2 years ago, we have seen countless 
attacks on women's reproductive freedoms across our Nation. We are 
seeing anti-choice States enact rigid abortion bans without exceptions 
for rape or incest. States that are forcing--forcing--emergency room 
doctors to call their lawyers before treating women who are going 
through a miscarriage, one of the most awful days of their lives. 
States like Alabama, they have even threatened IVF.
  These restrictive attacks are meant to control what women can and 
can't do with their bodies. I am going to repeat that. These 
restrictive attacks are meant to control women, what they can and can't 
do with their bodies. They are meant to dictate to women their family 
planning decisions, and they want to put extreme politicians between 
women and their doctors.
  The last 2 years have made it crystal clear: We cannot--we cannot--
rely on the Supreme Court alone to protect our access to care. We know 
overturning Roe was just the beginning. If extreme anti-choice 
politicians and activists, well, if they have their way, access to 
birth control is next.
  Contraception has been safely used by millions of women for decades. 
It has allowed women to take control over their own bodies, to decide 
when they want to start a family, how many kids they want to have, who 
they want to start a family with. And for these very same reasons, the 
right to contraception has been a target of anti-choice extremists for 
years.
  So let me be clear: Overturning the right to contraception would be 
catastrophic in a post-Roe world. It would mean that women in States 
with the most restrictive abortions bans would have zero ability--zero 
ability--at all to make any decisions over their own bodies. They would 
have no ability to prevent an unplanned pregnancy or get the care they 
need. Women would have zero ability to get the care they need or 
prevent a pregnancy.
  And this isn't just hypothetical. The Supreme Court has clearly 
demonstrated that it will not hesitate--they will not hesitate--to 
reverse landmark decisions and take away women's reproductive freedoms.
  That is why my colleagues and I introduced the Right to Contraception 
Act, to codify women's constitutional right to make family planning 
decisions.
  And this bill will do exactly what is in the name. It will just 
guarantee the right for women to access and to use birth control. It 
will guarantee the right for women to have access to contraception.
  Later today, we are going to have an opportunity to pass this 
important legislation. And I urge everyone in this Chamber to allow 
this bill to move forward and prevent extreme politicians from getting 
in the way of women's reproductive choices, to prevent extreme 
politicians from taking control over women's bodies, to prevent extreme 
politicians from being in your doctor's office.
  And if we fail to act, the Supreme Court could roll our rights back 
once again, and every woman across this country will suffer from our 
inaction today.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.