OLYMPIA, Wash. – A study released last week found that the amount of people traveling to the Evergreen State to receive abortions has jumped by about 50% since the repeal of Roe v. Wade. A federal bill guaranteeing a legal right to contraception failed to pass the Senate today, further widening the gulf between Republicans and Democrats on reproductive health.
Senator Maria Cantwell cited the University of Washington study which found increased amounts of people from out-of-state receiving abortions in Washington when condemning Senate Republicans on Wednesday.
“Washington saw the largest increase in patients from those states who had banned abortion states like Texas and Idaho, Louisiana, and Florida…Now imagine if they carry this further and ban contraception too. Our state doesn’t want to be impacted in the delivery of care. It wants people to be able to see a physician when they need to see a physician, get the care when they need to get the care,” Cantwell said.
Washington’s other US Senator Patty Murray also slammed the GOP on Wednesday and argued that the failure of the bill to pass represented a wider Republican assault on women’s autonomy.
“I stand with Senate Democrats and the overwhelming majority of Americans to support the right to contraception and a woman’s ability to make her own decisions about her body and life,” Murray said.
President Joe Biden took aim at Republicans Wednesday by characterizing the party’s opposition to contraception protections as extreme.
“Dangerous abortion bans are forcing health care providers to close, disrupting access to critical health care services. Republican officials continue to try to restrict access to birth control and to defund federal programs that help women access contraception,” Biden said.
Former president Donald Trump signaled his support for some restrictions on contraception access in late May, but has generally attempted to pivot his party’s messaging away from reproductive issues this election cycle.
National Republicans have attempted to blunt the political impact of blocking the bill by telling candidates to frame it as unnecessary according to Axios. Given that the policy would require a 60 vote supermajority to pass the Senate, it appears unlikely that a right to contraceptive access will be codified in federal law this legislative session.
