WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) blasted the failed Senate vote on the Right to Contraception Act.

Last week, all but two Republican senators voted against whether to begin work on the bill, which would have prohibited any laws that impede access to birth control, which was ruled on in Griswold v. Connecticut of 1965. The vote was 51-39, falling short of the 60 votes needed to defeat a filibuster and move the bill forward.

Following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, several states have restricted access to some forms of contraception. The Right to Contraception Act would guarantee the right for people to obtain and use contraception nationwide, Casey said.   “Since the fall of Roe, women’s reproductive rights have been under attack, including access to contraception and IVF,” Casey said. “The need for this bill is not hypothetical. Women around the nation deserve to know that their right to access birth control cannot be ripped away by the whims of state legislators. Once again, Republican politicians are showing that they are too extreme and cannot be trusted when it comes to women’s reproductive health.”

The protection in the bill would have extended to all methods of contraception, from fertility awareness-based methods to over-the-counter products to prescription drugs and devices to sterilization. 

Both medical (“pill”) abortions and in-clinic procedure abortions are legal in Pennsylvania. Emergency contraceptives such as Plan B (levonorgestrel) or Ella (ulipristal) are legally available in Pennsylvania and can be purchased over the counter at most pharmacies.

U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro of New York’s 19th District cosponsored the Right to Contraception Act, becoming the first Republican to back the bill in the House. He was also the first Republican to back a bill protecting IVF.

“I’ve rejected a national abortion ban, am fighting to protect IVF and mifepristone, and will fight to protect contraception,” Molinaro said before the failed vote. “We need to do more to support women and the choices they make. This bill is commonsense and a good place to start.”