WASHINTGTON, D.C. – This week, Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52) voted to pass the Right to Contraception Act and the Respect for Marriage Act, which 47 Republicans supported. These bills guarantee the right to obtain and use birth control methods and enshrine marriage equality for federal law purposes. The House of Representatives put forth these votes in response to the Supreme Court’s overtly political decisions on abortion, among other recent rulings.

“We should all be concerned about the dangerous direction the highest court in the land is taking our country,” said Rep. Peters. “After Justice Thomas stated the Supreme Court should reconsider landmark cases that established rights to contraception, same-sex consensual relations and same-sex marriage, Democratic members of Congress could not stand by without taking action. These rights have made our country a beacon of freedom. They will not be eroded.”

This week’s votes are part of the House’s momentum to protect the fundamental freedoms of Americans to make decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures.  Last week, the House passed:

• The Women’s Health Protection Act – focused legislation to make the protections of Roe v. Wade the law of the land. 
• The Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act – legislation stopping Republicans from criminalizing, fining, or suing women who exercise their constitutional right to travel across state lines to obtain an abortion.