A bill to safeguard access to contraceptives faces a U.S. Senate vote on Wednesday, part of a push by congressional Democrats to focus public attention on reproductive rights ahead of the November election but with little chance of passage.
The Right to Contraception Act, which would protect birth control access nationwide, is unlikely to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to pass in the chamber, where Democrats hold a narrow 51-49 majority.
The fight over reproductive rights is a flashpoint in U.S. politics, especially since the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to end the constitutional right to abortion access.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump last month came under fire after comments that political rivals said suggested he would consider banning birth control, leading him to respond publicly that he would not support such a move.
"I would hope that protecting access to birth control would be the definition of an easy, uncontroversial decision here in the Senate, but the vote will tell all when we gavel in tomorrow," top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday.
U.S. House of Representatives Democrats said on Tuesday they would attempt a legislative maneuver to force a vote on the same bill the Senate is taking up, though they faced slim chance of success in the Republican-controlled chamber.
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