Women protest the Hobby Lobby decision in Washington, DC. (photo: Getty Images)
17 July 14
enate fails to approve bill to restore contraception access
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday failed to approve a bill that would have
restored contraceptive access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's
Hobby Lobby ruling last month.
The Protect Women's Health from Corporate Interference
Act failed to pass with a 56-43 vote, largely along party lines.
Republicans blocked the measure as Democrats failed to reach the minimum
requirement of 60 approving votes to move it forward in the legislative
process.
Introduced last week by Sen. Patty Murray
(D-Washington) and Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colorado), and nicknamed the Not
My Bosses' Business Act, the measure stated that the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act did not allow employers to refuse to provide specific
health care, as required by federal law.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that private
businesses could refuse to cover the costs of their employees' birth
control if doing so conflicted with their religious beliefs.
Senate Republicans who opposed the measure said it would restrict religious freedom.
"In America, you shouldn’t be forced to choose between
giving up your business for your faith or giving up your faith for your
business,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) said before the vote. “The
government has no right — under the Constitution, under the political
heritage of the country, under the things that this country was built to
stand for — the government has no right to ask people to make that
choice.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) argued that
women are less likely to obtain certain kinds of health care due to
prohibitively high cost.
“When you charge women more for contraception coverage, then you are denying them access to that care," Shaheen said.
ACLU director Laura W. Murphy called the Hobby Lobby
decision "an unprecedented move," and said the vote against the bill was
political.
“A small number of senators chose politics over
women’s health today by refusing to allow debate on this bill to move
forward," Murphy said. "It’s encouraging that a majority of the Senate
voted to ensure that all women have access to affordable contraception,
and we must build on that momentum as we continue to fight for the
rights of all working women.”
Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership
for Women & Families, called the vote "an outrageous and stunning
loss not just for women, but for the country."
The Senate's failure to pass the bill "was a painful
reminder of how far we have to go before women’s health is no longer
politicized," Ness said.
Udall tweeted:
If the measure had passed in the Senate, it would
almost certainly have failed in a Republican-controlled House of
Representatives.
If the measure had passed in the Senate, it would
almost certainly have failed in a Republican-controlled House of
Representatives.
The roll call for the vote follows:
Alphabetical by Senator Name
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