CHICAGO (AP) — Republican state lawmakers across the U.S. have been knocking down efforts by Democrats to ensure access to various forms of birth control.
Former President Donald Trump put contraception in the election year spotlight this week when he said he was open to restrictions on it, then backed away from that statement.
In Wisconsin, Democrats introduced a bill that was intended to protect contraception access last year, but it never got so much as a hearing in the state legislature. Senate Democrats tried to pull the bill from committee in February and force a floor vote, the senate’s 22 Republicans blocked it.
Asked Wednesday why the bill never got traction, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, a Republican, said his caucus would rarely let Democrats make such a move regardless of the topic. He said the bill was redundant, stating, “People can already get contraception.”