Author: Justin Goldberg

The online publication Slate hails the Women’s Health Protection Act as an “important move” against the escalating state-level laws and bans that restrict abortion access, burdening providers and patients with unnecessary requirements, delays, or other actions. WHPA “would end the attacks on abortion clinics through one simple measure: requiring states to regulate abortion providers in exactly the same way they do other clinics and doctors who provide comparable services. No more singling out abortion providers.”

Comments by Lead Sponsor Representative Judy Chu (D-CA):

“Our bill finally puts a stop to the state-based attacks that anti-abortion advocates have been trying to use to undermine or even reverse Roe. And it prohibits any non-medical restrictions on our bodies. That means no “heartbeat bills,” no requirements that clinic doors be a certain width, no waiting periods or unnecessary ultrasounds; it means no abortion bans.

Finally, a woman’s right to receive abortion services and a provider’s right to perform abortion services would be enshrined in federal law. And I also thrilled at the support we have for this bill. We began just this week to gather cosponsors, and in three days we got 169 cosponsors for this bill. And support of course is growing in the Senate as well. What’s more, the support is not just from blue states or cities; we have support from all over the country, because the truth is the majority of Americans support access to safe and legal abortions.”

Comments by Lourdes Rivera, Senior Vice President U.S. Programs, Center for Reproductive Rights:

“Like all of you, we at the Center are alarmed by the increasingly cruel and extreme bans and restrictions being imposed by anti-abortion politicians — in violation of women’s rights and human rights. These measures are unconstitutional, and right now, we have dozens of challenges in the courts, including one that is already at the Supreme Court.

In large swaths of this country, abortion is already nearly inaccessible due to blatantly unconstitutional restrictions that hurt women and their families and prevent people from making personal decisions about their health, their lives, and their futures. …

We are not leaving anything to chance. We need a national law to protect equal access to abortion across America. Please join me in moving forward by supporting the Women’s health Protection Act to assure the constitutional rights of allpeople, no matter what state they call home. We will not go back!”

This morning, lead sponsors from Congress and top advocates from reproductive rights and justice organizations gathered on the Hill to announce the re-introduction of the Women’s Health Protection Act. The bill’s co-leads are Representative Judy Chu (D-CA) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), taking a strong stand against the recent state-level near-total bans on abortion, as well as the years of restrictions and bans that came before it.

Said Blumenthal, “As 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. These demagogic and draconian laws hurt women and families as they make personal and difficult medical decisions. This issue is about more than women’s health care; it’s about human rights — all our rights.”

The Women’s Health Protection Act was co-sponsored by 173 members of the House and 42 Senators at re-introduction. The bill will block state-level restrictions and bans that are eroding access to abortion in states across the country, sometimes leaving states with just one remaining abortion clinic.

“The Women’s Health Protection Act will ensure that a woman’s ability to access abortion care does not depend on her zip code, and we will work tirelessly to guarantee that in law,” said Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Also present at re-introduction was Dr. Leana Wen, President/CEO of Planned Parenthood, bill cosponsors Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Representatives Lois Frankel (D-FL), Marcia Fudge (D-OH).

You can view the livestream here: Livestream re-introduction of WHPA.

“The Women’s Health Protection Act would safeguard against the unrelenting wave of restrictions on safe, legal abortion that continue to sweep the country. A woman’s ability to get high-quality, constitutionally protected health care should never depend on her zip code or the ever-changing political winds.”
—Nancy Northup, CEO and President,
Center for Reproductive Rights