Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican who represents South Carolina, found herself on the wrong side of her conservative colleagues after she wore a blazer reading: "My State is Banning EXCEPTIONS — Protect Contraception" on the House floor.
Mace told reporters that she would break with her party and support a bill proposed by Democrats to protect contraceptive rights, one of several actions they've taken since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that once protected a person's right to choose reproductive healthcare without excessive government restriction.
Mace said that if "you're gonna have a state that bans abortion for women who are victims of rape and incest, you have to and should protect access to contraception."
You can see what she wore in the photo below.
\u201c.@RepNancyMace walking into votes today with a message on her blazer.\n\nSays she will be supporting the contraception bill - worried about SC law banning exceptions for women in cases of rape and incest.\u201d— Emily Wilkins (@Emily Wilkins) 1658416697
Mace's attire — as well as her proposal for a bill that would allow women to access birth control over the counter — angered conservatives.
\u201cBirth control pills are literally poison. Why do you want greater access? \n\nIs everything you promote just degenerate?\u201d— Gavin Mario Wax \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83d\uddfd (@Gavin Mario Wax \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83d\uddfd) 1658342802
\u201cIf true, this would not allow any contraception because it is all unsafe (sin damages the soul)\u201d— Fil (@Fil) 1658346364
\u201cYou are the worst\u201d— Crab (@Crab) 1658364418
\u201cterrible\u201d— \ud83d\udc51 Let's talk politics\u271d\ufe0f \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@\ud83d\udc51 Let's talk politics\u271d\ufe0f \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1658351266
\u201cPutting writing on your shirt like that is a dead giveaway for being a deranged lib. Not a huge Tom Rice fan, but it is a pity he lost and she won.\u201d— FantaGuy (@FantaGuy) 1658419015
\u201cSouth Carolina @RepNancyMace supports legislation defending dangerous abortifacients that threaten women and kill the children, upset more Republicans don't\u201d— GreenlightStrategies (@GreenlightStrategies) 1658425250
\u201cNancy Mace is an embarrassment.\u201d— Stanford College Republicans (@Stanford College Republicans) 1658417544
\u201cI do not understand this member of congress\u201d— schoopy schoop (@schoopy schoop) 1658417296
Ultimately, only eight Republicans, including Mace, voted to enshrine the right to contraception.
\u201cRepublicans that joined with Democrats to pass the Right to Contraception Act:\n\n* Liz Cheney WY\n* John Katko NY\n* Adam Kinzinger IL\n* Nancy Mace SC\n* Fred Upton MI\n* Brian Fitzpatrick PA\n* Maria Salazar FL\n* Anthony Gonzalez OH\n\nOnly eight, but should be recognized.\u201d— Polar Nerd (@Polar Nerd) 1658440427
Concerns about the future of contraceptive rights have taken on fresh urgency in the weeks since the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe.
The decision on Roe, which hinged on a right to privacy that while not explicitly granted in the United States Constitution was nonetheless accepted per the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (which grants all citizens “equal protection of the laws"), suggested other Supreme Court rulings, such as those regarding contraception and same-sex and interracial marriage, are now in doubt.
The Supreme Court ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut cites this right to privacy in protecting the liberty of married couples to buy and use contraceptives without government restriction. The ruling was hailed as a victory for people who can get pregnant in particular and is presumed to be on the chopping block in the near future.
Earlier this spring, shortly after a leaked draft opinion indicated the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs would move to strike down Roe, Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland warned that the eroison of privacy rights "would appear to be an invitation to have Handmaid's Tale type anti-feminist regulation and legislation all over the country."
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