Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Announcing The Senate Will Vote This Week On Advancing The Right To Contraception Act

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor after filing cloture on the motion to proceed to the Right to Contraception Act, setting up a floor vote on Wednesday. Leader Schumer said that over the coming weeks, Senate Democrats will put reproductive freedoms front and center before the Senate. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

This month, America marks a dark and somber anniversary: two years since a radical MAGA majority on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The decision to overturn Roe will go down as one of the worst Supreme Court cases in modern times. It will be remembered as one of the most draconian reversals of individual liberty in American history.

There should be no question who brought our country to this crisis: it was Donald Trump and hard-right Republicans, who have made clear that they will not rest until freedom of choice is eliminated across the country.

Democrats will not stand for Republicans’ relentless attacks on reproductive freedoms. This week, the Senate will begin our defense of freedom of choice with a vote to protect access to contraceptives.

Before the Memorial Day holiday, I began the process for the Senate to consider the Right to Contraception Act, led by Senators Markey and Hirono. Today, I just filed cloture on the motion to proceed to that bill.

Members should expect a vote moving forward on the Right to Contraception Act on Wednesday.

Federal protections for contraceptives is a critical piece of protecting American women’s reproductive freedoms, and this legislation would codify the right to contraception into federal law.

For those who think that federal protections for birth control are unnecessary, just look at what is happening at the state level – Republican governors in Virginia and Nevada have already vetoed bills to protect birth control, and the Arizona legislature has blocked similar bills too. The federal government should absolutely have a say in ensuring every American has access to birth control if they need it.

And there will be more action to come after that. Over the coming weeks, Senate Democrats will put reproductive freedoms front and center before this chamber, so that the American people can see for themselves who will stand up to defend their fundamental liberties.

The erosion of freedom of choice is perhaps the defining worry for tens of millions of Americans since the MAGA court eliminated Roe. Today, at least 20 states have near-total bans or severe restrictions on abortion. Tens of millions of women lack access to reproductive care.

And even services like IVF – which millions of Americans have relied on to have children and start families – can no longer be assumed as totally safe.

None of this happened in a vacuum. This is all a direct result of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans who made the repeal of Roe their north star for decades. And Republicans aren’t even hiding it. Donald Trump, in fact, said he was “proudly the person responsible” for the disastrous Roe reversal.

Does anyone seriously think that if Donald Trump and Republicans get into power again that they won’t try to restrict abortion and reproductive care even more? Of course they will. Of course they will.

That’s why it’s more important now than ever that we pass legislation like the Right to Contraception Act, to protect this vital lifeline for millions of women across the country.

This week and in future weeks, Senate Republicans will have to answer for their anti-abortion, anti-women agenda. And my Republican colleagues should know that the American people are closely watching.

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