FTP for TV stations of her remarks is available here.
“We’ve seen that the anti-choice movement won’t stop coming after our reproductive rights. That’s why we must pass the Right to Contraception Act and protect access to birth control in every state across our country.”
Washington, D.C. – Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) spoke on the Senate floor today to take a stand against anti-choice politicians’ efforts to chip away at access to birth control, urging her colleagues to join her in voting to pass the Right to Contraception Act. This legislation would protect access to birth control for women across the country.
Senator Cortez Masto has been a fierce advocate for women’s reproductive rights—spearheading legislation to ensure legal protections for women seeking reproductive care across state lines and to make certain that women in the U.S. have access to affordable over-the-counter birth control. She’s also fighting to protect the data privacy of women in search of reproductive health care.
Below are her remarks as prepared for delivery:
Madam President, I’m joining Senators Markey, Hirono, Duckworth, and my colleagues today in support of the Right to Contraception Act.
This month marks the second anniversary of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which upended a woman’s right to choose and paved the way for former President Trump and anti-choice politicians to further erode women’s rights.
We knew these anti-choice Republicans wouldn’t stop attacking reproductive rights after Roe fell. We knew they would keep trying to diminish our freedom to make decisions about our own bodies, including the right to obtain and use birth control.
You don’t have to take my word for it – look what’s happening in states across the country! Even though the right to birth control has strong bipartisan support, anti-choice lawmakers are passing bills left and right to chip away at access to contraception.
And listen to the leader of the Republican Party! Just two weeks ago, former President Trump said he was open to restricting women’s right to contraception if he wins another term. For the anti-choice right, this is about controlling women.
On the other hand, my fellow pro-choice colleagues and I believe in reproductive freedom. We’re working every day to protect access to birth control and other basic forms of women’s health care, and we’re making real progress here.
Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved Opill, the first-ever over-the-counter birth control pill. And once it was approved, Senators Murray, Hirono, and I along with others pushed the manufacturers to make sure Opill is widely accessible without a prescription – it’s now available online and in stores across the country.
We’re not alone in this fight. The Biden-Harris administration has worked hard to expand access to contraception and make it more affordable for American women.
We’ve made important progress, but we’ve seen that the anti-choice movement won’t stop coming after our reproductive rights. That’s why we must pass the Right to Contraception Act and protect access to birth control in every state across our country.
We know that despite dishonest efforts from anti-choice politicians to label it as dangerous, birth control is an essential part of health care. For me, contraception was about my health, as it is for millions of women in America.
This legislation would protect the fundamental right to access essential health care. It would empower women in Nevada and across the country to make decisions about their own lives – on their own terms. And it would make it clear to Donald Trump and his anti-choice followers that messing with the right to contraception is not on the table.
My colleagues here and I will never stop fighting to reinstate the rights anti-choice politicians have stripped away from millions of women, and we will fiercely defend the rights women still have, including access to birth control.
That’s why we’re here today to vote on the Right to Contraception Act, and why we’ll continue to champion critical legislation that protects reproductive freedom.
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