WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Wednesday released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked consideration of the Right to Contraception Act, legislation that would establish federal protections for contraception. If passed, the bill, which Murphy co-sponsored, would have guaranteed the right for people to obtain and use contraceptives and for health providers to prescribe contraceptives and give information related to contraception, free from government interference.  

“In a post-Dobbs America where a Supreme Court Justice has said the Court should reconsider the Griswold decision, the right to contraceptives cannot be taken for granted. This is a simple bill to guarantee that right and ensure that women – not politicians or extremist right-wing judges – are in control of their own health care and futures. It’s appalling that Republicans voted it down today. The reality is that Dobbs was only the beginning and Republicans won’t stop until they pass a nationwide ban on IVF, contraceptives and abortion. I will continue fighting to keep government out of women’s healthcare so that women in Connecticut and across the country can access the reproductive care they need,” said Murphy.

In March, Murphy co-sponsored legislation to protect IVF access and other assisted reproductive technology, but passage was blocked by Senate Republicans. That month, Murphy also submitted an amicus brief calling on the Supreme Court to affirm the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to provide emergency stabilizing care, including abortion care. In January, Murphy joined 263 Members of Congress in submitting an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to reverse a dangerous ruling that would restrict access to an FDA-approved abortion drug. Last year, Murphy co-sponsored a slate of legislation to protect reproductive rights, including the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act, the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act, the Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act, the Women’s Health Protection Act, and a Senate resolution expressing opposition to the use of state resources and power against Americans seeking reproductive healthcare, such as abortion services, contraception, and gender-affirming care.

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