The U.S. House voted mostly along party lines Thursday to send the Senate legislation that would guarantee people the right to use contraception without government interference.
WASHINGTON — — The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
House debate on the contraception access bill Thursday fell along party lines, with Democrats arguing it’s necessary to ensure Americans won’t lose another constitutional right at the hands of conservative Supreme Court justices and Republicans saying the measure should have gone through a committee markup and is too broadly written.
Democrats’ bill defined contraception as “an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives or fertility-awareness based methods, and sterilization procedures.” The measure wouldn’t enshrine access to other forms of birth control, such as IUDs or forms of birth control not taken orally. It also wouldn’t cover emergency contraception, often called Plan B.
The bill would allow the attorney general, an individual or a health care provider to file a civil lawsuit against any government or person who violates the law.