The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday to protect access to contraception.responding to concerns that it could be threatened by a conservative Supreme Court that reversed the ruling that guaranteed the right to abortion throughout the country.
(Read: USA: Congress approves initiative to protect same-sex marriage)
The bill passed the Democratic-majority lower house in a 228-195 vote.with the support of all 220 Democrats and eight of the 211 Republicans in the chamber.
In the Senate, which is evenly divided, the chances of success are uncertain. The bill would create a federal right of access to and supply of contraceptives by doctors and pharmacists.
Progressives consider that this right is now in question after the recent ruling of the country’s Supreme Court that eliminated the legal protection of abortion in force in the US for 50 years.
The bill must now go to the Senate, where filibustering rules mean that, in practice, almost any legislation needs a supermajority of 60 votes to pass.
Democrats currently hold 50 of the 100 seats in the upper house, so they would need the support of at least 10 Republican senators to push the measure through.
Contraceptives are used by 88% of US women of childbearing age who are not trying to get pregnant, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights group.
Some state legislatures have introduced bills to restrict access to contraceptives, although they have not been approved. Additionally, 12 states allow health care providers to refuse contraception, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
The House of Representatives recently passed a similar bill to legally protect same-sex marriage, drawing support from 47 Republican lawmakers, in addition to all Democrats.
Some US media point out that this recent legislative push is a way of forcing conservatives to portray themselves in the face of social issues that have broad social support ahead of the legislative elections in November.
On the other hand, most polls predict a loss of legislative power for the Democrats in the elections, who could lose their majority in the House of Representatives, so approving this type of law would become even more complicated.
The June ruling of the Supreme Court that revoked the right to abortion made it clear that this ruling should not be interpreted as a precedent to eliminate other rights.
However, in a concurring opinion to that decision, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that legal precedents protecting same-sex marriage and access to contraceptives should be reconsidered.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from Reuters and EFE
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