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By Aila Slisco
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Senate Republicans have voted to block a bill that would have guaranteed access to contraceptives nationwide.
The Right to Contraception Act on Wednesday was stopped in its tracks after failing to achieve the 60 votes required for a full Senate vote, with all opposition to the legislation coming from Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer—who changed his "yes" vote to a "no" in a last-second procedural move that allows the bill to be voted on again, said in a statement that "Senate Republicans showed us who they are today."
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A total of 51 senators voted in favor of the bill, all of whom were Democrats and independents, with the exception of moderate Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.
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The following is a list of all 38 Republican senators who voted against the bill:
- John Barrasso of Wyoming
- Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
- John Boozman of Arkansas
- Ted Budd of North Carolina
- Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
- Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
- John Cornyn of Texas
- Tom Cotton of Arkansas
- Kevin Cramer of North Dakota
- Mike Crapo of Idaho
- Ted Cruz of Texas
- Steve Daines of Montana
- Joni Ernst of Iowa
- Deb Fischer of Nebraska
- Chuck Grassley of Iowa
- Josh Hawley of Missouri
- John Hoeven of North Dakota
- Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi
- Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
- James Lankford of Oklahoma
- Mike Lee of Utah
- Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming
- Roger Marshall of Kansas
- Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
- Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma
- Rand Paul of Kentucky
- Pete Ricketts of Nebraska
- James Risch of Idaho
- Mike Rounds of South Dakota
- Marco Rubio of Florida
- Eric Schmitt of Missouri
- Rick Scott of Florida
- Tim Scott of South Carolina
- John Thune of South Dakota
- Thom Tillis of North Carolina
- Tommy Tuberville of Alabama
- Roger Wicker of Mississippi
- Todd Young of Indiana
Another nine Republicans joined indicted Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey in sitting out the vote: Mike Braun of Indiana, Katie Britt of Alabama, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mitt Romney of Utah, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and J.D. Vance of Ohio.
Republicans argued that the bill was a political stunt by Democrats tied to their support of abortion rights ahead of the November election, with multiple GOP senators calling the vote on Wednesday a "show vote."
Schumer countered that narrative in his statement, saying that it was "not a show vote" but had shown that Republicans are "not willing to stand up and protect access to contraception, something 90% of Americans support."
Newsweek reached out for comment to the Republican National Committee via email on Wednesday night.
Cornyn, one of the "no" votes, argued that the bill was "a wolf in sheep's clothing." The Texas Republican said in a statement that the legislation amounted to "fearmongering," while also claiming that the bill would guarantee access to abortion-inducing drugs.
"Contraception is available in every state in America, and there's no legitimate effort to change that," Cornyn said. "Democrats are using their powers as the majority party to engage in fearmongering to further their own political agenda."
"The bill before the Senate goes far beyond protecting access to contraception," he added. "It would force healthcare providers to provide abortion drugs, regardless of any religious objections ... This bill is a wolf in sheep's clothing."
While the so-called "morning-after pill" can reduce the risk of pregnancies and is sometimes called "emergency contraception," there is nothing in the text of the bill that guarantees access to abortion-inducing drugs.
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