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Congressional Democrats have reintroduced the Women’s Health Protection Act to protect abortion access around the United States. The bill was first introduced in 2013.
The federal legislation would codify Roe v. Wade in law and establish the legal right to abortion in all 50 states under federal law.
The legislation guarantees the right for health care professionals to provide abortions without any interference.
“With the Supreme Court set to consider a direct attack on Roe and as emboldened and extremist lawmakers viciously attack women’s reproductive rights in statehouses across the nation, the Women’s Health Protection Act has never been more urgent or more necessary,” Senator Richard Blumenthal said. “These demagogic and draconian laws hurt women and families as they make personal and difficult medical decisions.”
Blumenthal and Sen. Tammy Baldwin introduced the Senate bill with a total of 48 original co-sponsors. Representatives Judy Chu, Ayanna Pressley, Veronica Escobar, and Lois Frankel introduced the House bill with a total of 176 original co-sponsors. These are the highest numbers of original co-sponsors ever for the bill.
According to Guttmacher Institute, 1,300 abortion restrictions have been enacted since Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court in 1973.
“Right now, in states across this country, Roe v. Wade is under attack, and millions of women are at risk of losing the freedom to make their own personal health decisions,” said Baldwin. “It is past time to stand up to these extreme threats to women’s constitutionally protected reproductive rights, which is why I’m championing the Women’s Health Protection Act.”
“Every woman, regardless of where she lives, deserves the freedom to make her own, personal decisions about her health care, her family, and her body,” added Baldwin.
“We cannot wait any longer. If Roe falls, many states will immediately take action to make abortion a crime,” Nancy Northup, President, and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Even now, with constitutional protections in place, state legislators have made it impossible to access abortion in the South and Midwest.”
10 states have trigger laws already in place to ban abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe V. Wade.
