On Thursday, the three Republican members of Washington’s congressional delegation voted against a bill to codify contraception access into federal law.
U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Jaime Herrera Beutler joined 192 other Republicans in opposing the Right to Contraception Act, which allows individuals to obtain and use birth control, and protects a health care provider’s ability to supply contraceptives. It ultimately passed the House, with strong support from Washington Democrats, Reps. Kim Schrier, Pramila Jayapal, Derek Kilmer, Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, and Marilyn Strickland.
The legislation is one of several sponsored by Democrats in response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. In his opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas called for the court to review other landmark cases, including Griswold v. Connecticut (right to access contraception) and Obergefell v. Hodges (right to same-sex marriage), signaling potential future attacks.
The Thursday vote comes just days after McMorris Rodgers and Herrera Beutler voted against legislation to enshrine marriage equality at the federal level. The pair, along with Newhouse, also voted against a recent bill to to protect abortion access and prevent states from penalizing women for traveling out of state to access health care.
“With their vote today, Washington House Republicans showed they aren’t interested in guaranteeing access to contraception — the No. 1 way to actually reduce unintended pregnancies,” Washington State Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski said. “After the vast majority of House Republicans already voted in the past two weeks against legislation to protect the right to an abortion, protect women traveling to another state to seek reproductive health care, and protect same-sex and interracial marriage, it’s clear that Democrats are the only party interested in securing Washingtonians’ freedoms.”
