Warren vows to fight ‘backward-looking ideologues’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) vowed Tuesday to always fight those who want to limit women’s access to birth control.

“I will never stop fighting the efforts of backward-looking ideologues that want to cut women’s access to birth control,” Warren said on the Senate floor. “We’ve lived in that world and we are not going back there, not ever.”

{mosads}Warren’s comments came a day before the Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on a bill that would reverse the recent Supreme Court ruling that allows employers to deny birth control coverage for women.

The Supreme Court ruled last month that some closely held private companies cannot be required to offer birth control in their healthcare plans if they have religious objections, though the justices said they were open to an “accommodation” that could bypass those concerns.

While Republicans hailed the ruling as a victory for religious freedom, Democrats denounced it and are pushing legislation that would bar private employers from denying birth control in their health coverage plans.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said S. 2578 would reduce religious liberties to an “election year prop.”

“The majority has put their finger to the political wind and all they want is a show vote. … They ought to be ashamed,” Hatch said Tuesday. “It’s the first freedom mentioned in the Bill of Rights — you’d think everyone here would be on the side of upholding it.”