Tina Smith: “I rise today with my colleagues to urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of the Right to Contraception Act. At its…”

“I rise today with my colleagues to urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of the Right to Contraception Act. At its core, this bill is based on a very simple value. The value is that every individual should have the right to make decisions about their lives, their medical care, their families, and their bodies. Passing this bill would not only protect the right to get birth control free from government interference, but it would protect this core American value because if you don't control your reproductive life, you don't control anything about your life. This is a bipartisan issue at least in the Nation, if not in this Chamber. Over 80 percent of Americans support access to birth control, including over 70 percent of Republicans, but despite this overwhelming level of support, many of my Republican colleagues seem set to block this bill today. You know, I wish I could say that I was shocked, but there is a direct through line we see between Senate Republicans and Donald Trump in confirming Trump's extremist, anti-choice Justices, overturning Roe, and bringing us to this day. So this is not an accident; this is a plan. In the era of chaos ushered in by the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, the Republicans' refusal to protect access to birth control is just another example of this cruel and reckless approach to women's health, and every day, we are confronted with the grave consequences that overturning Roe has had for Americans.…”