Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) wore a jacket with a clear message about her stance on protecting access to birth control after casting her vote on the Right to Contraception Act Thursday.
Mace was photographed wearing a jacket with three strips of tape across the back that read, “My state is Banning EXCEPTIONS Protect CONTRACEPTION.”
The South Carolina congresswoman was seen wearing the jacket after she voted on a piece of legislation that will safeguard access to contraception. She was one of eight Republicans who voted with all House Democrats to pass the bill.
The legislation followed comments from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas alluding that the court should consider overturning the landmark case protecting birth control.
Mace spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday about why she believes Congress should protect access to contraception and criticized the South Carolina legislature’s efforts to ban any exceptions for abortion.
“And just this week, I think it was yesterday or the day before, the state of South Carolina is working on passing legislation that would ban those exceptions. So 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,” Mace said. “I can’t imagine a world where you wouldn’t otherwise, especially for those women that have been through that kind of trauma.”
Mace has previously said she believes in exceptions to abortion bans in cases of rape or incest, stemming from her personal experience with rape as a young girl. She talked about her position in an interview in May and the trauma that she went through as a result of her rape.
“I am pro-life, but I do support exceptions for rape. I’m a rape victim myself. And when you realize what’s happened in your life, the trauma, the emotional, the mental, the physical trauma in a woman’s life, that decision — she should make that decision with her doctor and between her and her God,” Mace said at the time.
The congresswoman also said she would support federal legislation that would enshrine abortion exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.