Yesterday, House Republicans used a procedural vote to block consideration of the “Not My Boss’ Business” bill, which would address the Supreme Court’s misguided decision in Hobby Lobby v. Burwell. Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) held a press event yesterday with Leader Pelosi, Senator Murray, and others calling on Boehner to take up the legislation.

“This vote puts the House on record when it comes to women’s health,” the Representatives said. “The women of America should know where their representative stands. Does their member of Congress stand with bosses who seek to get between a woman and her health care needs? Or do they stand with the women of America and believe that, when it comes to their own health care, a woman should be her own boss.”

Today, the Senate followed suit by blocking the legislation by a procedural vote of 56-43.

The legislation, formally known as the Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act of 2014 would explicitly prohibit for-profit employers that maintain a group health plan for its employees from using religious beliefs to deny employees coverage of contraception or any other vital health service required by federal law. The bill exempts federally mandated health services from RFRA while keeping in place the existing exemption for religious employers (e.g., houses of worship) and accommodation of religious non-profits who do not wish to provide contraceptives. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Mark Udall (D-CO) are introducing companion legislation in the Senate.

Ninety-nine percent of sexually-active women use birth control at least once in their lifetimes, and the Centers for Disease Control declared it one of the Ten Great Public Health Achievements of the 20th Century. While the most common reason women use contraception is to prevent pregnancy, 58 percent of oral contraceptive users cite non-contraceptive health benefits as reasons for using the pill. Fourteen percent of birth control pill users, more than 1,500,000 women, rely on the birth control pills for only non-contraceptive purposes.

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