Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) issued the following statement regarding Senate Democrats’ political show vote, the so-called ‘Right to Contraception’ Act.

“Five months ahead of a clearly unfavorable election, Chuck Schumer has initiated a ‘Summer of Show Votes’ to try and change the narrative on the liberal Democrat’s complete failure of leadership,” said Senator Mullin. “Contraception is legal and freely available in every state. In fact, federal law requires health insurers to provide contraceptive methods at no additional cost. This bill is just another political ploy designed to give radical liberals an excuse to rush taxpayer dollars to the abortion-on-demand industry.”

Background: 

• No state has prohibited contraceptives or family planning, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurance coverage of preventive care for women, which includes contraceptives, at no cost.
  • This vote is a straw man attempt to scare Americans into thinking that their contraceptive access is under threat.
• The so-called Right to Contraception Act (RCA)’s definitions of contraceptives could easily be interpreted to include the chemical abortion drug Mifepristone (because it can be used off-label as an emergency contraceptive), which would create a statutory right to obtain abortion drugs.
• The RCA would prohibit states and federal government from excluding providers of contraceptives who also perform abortions (like Planned Parenthood) from federal or state programs.
  • This would also prohibit future administrations from reinstating the Trump administration’s Protect Life, which required Title X Family Planning Program grantees to be physically and financially separate from abortion businesses.
• The RCA explicitly exempts itself from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which could force companies/providers with moral or religious beliefs about contraceptives to violate their conscience and pay for or provide contraceptives they believe to be abortifacients (abortion inducing drugs).

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