After the Supreme Court overturned the right to abortions in the USA, the US House of Representatives now wants to forestall the conservative court: In addition to the right to same-sex marriage, access to contraceptives is also to be anchored in federal laws.
After the right to same-sex marriage, the US House of Representatives also wants to enshrine the right to contraception into law. A corresponding bill was passed by 228 to 195 votes. All dissenting votes came from Republicans – although eight Republican MPs also voted in favor.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted to protect the right to same-sex marriage in federal law. Due to the narrow majority in the Senate, which would also have to agree, both legislative projects do not have much of a chance.
The background to the voting is the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn abortion rights. Since this right is not protected by federal law, the states can now enact sweeping restrictions and prohibitions. This has already happened in numerous states. In their attempt to enshrine same-sex marriage and contraceptive rights into federal law, lawmakers want to prevent them from being overturned in a manner similar to abortion rights. If that happens and there is no federal law to the contrary, states could refuse to recognize same-sex marriages or they could try to restrict access to contraception.
A statement by the arch-conservative judge Clarence Thomas, which he published in the wake of the abortion verdict, had triggered horror. He wrote that decisions enshrining the right to contraception, same-sex marriage, or sex between same-sex partners also need to be reviewed.
