Schumer tees up vote on bill to protect contraception after Trump comments
The Senate will take up a bill to protect access to contraception in June, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday, shortly after a Donald Trump interview aired that indicated the presumptive GOP presidential nominee was considering restrictions.
There's no indication Senate Republicans would support the legislation, led by Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.) and Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), which would need at least nine GOP votes to advance. But it could serve as a potent election-year vote as Democrats seek to highlight broad Republican divisions on reproductive rights. The bill would codify contraception as "a fundamental right" nationally.
"Now more than ever, contraception is a critical piece of protecting women's reproductive freedoms," Schumer said Wednesday on the floor.
Former President Donald Trump said in the interview with a Pittsburgh TV station that he was "looking at" new contraception restrictions. The interview aired Tuesday but it's unclear when it was taped. Trump then quickly backtracked on social media later that day, saying he would "never, and will never advocate imposing restrictions on birth control or other contraceptives."