Congress is set to vote this week on bills aimed at protecting access to contraceptives and same-sex marriage in the aftermath of the Supreme Court voting to overturn Roe v. Wade and comments from Justice Clarence Thomas saying the high court should reconsider landmark rulings which guarantee both rights.
In a concurring opinion to last month’s Supreme Court ruling that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, Justice Thomas wrote that the high court “should consider” a number of other key rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, which guaranteed the right for same-sex couples to marry, and Griswold v. Connecticut, which protects the right of marital privacy against state restrictions on contraception.
“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,” Thomas wrote. “Because any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous’ … we have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents.”
Last week, the House of Representatives passed two bills aimed at expanding abortion access nationwide, and are poised to do the same this week with access to contraceptives and marriage equality.
On Tuesday, the House will vote on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify marriage equality rights into law and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that defined marriage as between one man and one woman and allowed states to refuse same-sex marriages performed legally in other states. The provisions of the law were rendered inert by the Supreme Court in Obergefell and 2013’s United States v. Windsor.
The measure was introduced Monday by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, which includes several top House and Senate Democrats, as well as Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican.
“Three weeks ago, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court not only repealed Roe v Wade and walked back 50 years of precedent, it signaled that other rights, like the right to same-sex marriage, are next on the chopping block,” said New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee. “As this Court may take aim at other fundamental rights, we cannot sit idly by as the hard-earned gains of the Equality movement are systematically eroded.”
“Maine voters legalized same-sex marriages in our state nearly a decade ago, and since Obergefell, all Americans have had the right to marry the person whom they love,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, adding: “This bill is another step to promote equality, prevent discrimination, and protect the rights of all Americans.”
“Marriage equality is a constitutional right that has been well established by the Supreme Court as precedent and this freedom should be protected,” Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin said. “The bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act will enshrine and protect marriage equality and make sure legal, same-sex and interracial marriages are recognized.”
“I take great pride in being a part of this bipartisan effort to protect the progress we have made on marriage equality, because we cannot allow this freedom and right to be denied,” Baldwin added.
While no House Republicans co-sponsored the legislation, a number of them are expected to support the final passage of the bill, including New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who expressed regret for voting against a marriage equality bill while serving in the state assembly.
“In 2017, I expressed my deep regret for voting against a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in New York State while in the State Assembly six years prior,” she wrote in a statement. “Every legislator has votes they regret, and to this day, that vote was one of the most difficult I’ve had to take.”
“Today, I will vote to codify same-sex marriage to ensure our fellow Americans continue to have the right to equal marriage and benefits under federal law,” she added.
Other lawmakers who introduced the legislation include Reps. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., Mark Takano, D-Calif., Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairwoman Judy Chu, D-Calif., Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who chairs the Democratic caucus.
“House Democrats are not waiting for elections to protect our rights and freedom,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wrote on Twitter Monday. “We’re fighting NOW to keep abortion and birth control legal and stop corporate price gouging. We won’t let Republicans crush our rights and pad corporate pockets on our watch.”
The chamber will also vote this week on the Right to Contraception Act, which would “codify the right for Americans to access birth control into federal law.”
The bill was introduced last week by Reps. Kathy Manning, D-N.C., Nikema Williams, D-Ga., Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and Annie Craig, D-Minn.
“Americans’ reproductive freedom, including the longstanding right to contraception, is at risk under this extreme Supreme Court and Republican state legislatures across the country,” Manning wrote in a statement. “We have already seen state governments attempt to restrict contraceptive methods and obstruct people’s private health care choices.”
“Contraception is key to achieving gender equality, improving health outcomes for women and their families, bolstering educational and economic opportunity for all, and ensuring people are in control of their own bodies and futures,” she added.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said last week that Justice Thomas “made it very clear that the extremist ruling that ended Roe v. Wade could be used to overturn other precedents,” specifically when it comes to contraception.
“The House will not sit back and allow extremist Republicans and their judicial appointees to limit Americans’ access to contraception, which is why I will bring H.R. 8373, the Right to Contraception Act, to the House Floor next week,” he added.
In a statement Monday, the Biden administration said it “strongly supports” the measure, adding: “Access to contraception is essential to ensuring all people have control over personal decisions about their own health, lives, and families.”
Both bills are expected to pass the House, but face murkier odds in the evenly divided Senate, where they would require the support of at least 10 Republicans to overcome the filibuster.
