Author: Stephanie

The Supreme Court’s ruling in June Medical Services v. Russo is an important victory for abortion access in Louisiana, but it does not change the reality that for many people in the United States, accessing abortion—a constitutionally protected right—is difficult or nearly impossible due to state-level restrictions attacking abortion care.

The anti-abortion law struck down by the Court is just one of HUNDREDS harmful and medically unnecessary restrictive laws passed in the last decade that are pushing abortion care out of reach across the country.

We need the Women’s Health Protection Act and we need it NOW. Tell your legislators to pass WHPA today: https://www.actforwomen.org/take-action/

When the Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Louisiana abortion law designed to shut down clinics, it sent a clear message affirming our constitutional right to abortion.

This should be a pivotal and promising moment for reproductive rights. And yet, I have never been as concerned about the future of abortion access, which is being hollowed out by a game of constitutional whack-a-mole. It’s past time for Congress to step in and end it….

The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) is the answer. WHPA takes the Supreme Court’s precedents and solidifies them into a clear federal standard for preserving the constitutional right to abortion and treating abortion for what it is: health care…

For nearly half a century, the Supreme Court has continuously affirmed that a woman has the right to make personal decisions about her body, her family and her life. Now Congress must act and pass WHPA to stop these whack-a-mole state attacks, and ensure that the right to abortion first recognized in Roe v. Wade is a reality for people all across the country.

— Nancy Northup, President and CEO, Center for Reproductive Rights

Read the full op/ed here.

On Wednesday, February 12, the Act for Women campaign showed up in full force to support WHPA! Thank you for filling the hearing room, submitting testimony for the record, and mobilizing your networks to support this bill. Your voices were heard.

This was the first hearing on proactive legislation to protect abortion access in the House in nearly thirty years. Your hard work and dedication to reproductive rights got us to this historic moment and together we will move WHPA forward in 2020!

(Photos by Cal Cary & Dayna Smith/ImageSmith Media)

“I am a decorated campaign veteran who was taught Geneva Conventions, NATO rules of engagement and trusted to be competent in my abilities enough to teach them to future Airmen. Yet, when making a decision over my own life I was not trusted to know what was best for myself. Several state laws had made that clear to me. The decision to continue or end a pregnancy is a healthcare decision that cannot be made by one individual for another individual.

I cannot reconcile that our government trusted me to hold weapons of protection for our country and serve as a respected member of our armed services, but could not trust me to make the right decision over my own body.”

Holly Alvarado, Advocate

“Decades of medically unnecessary restrictions have taken their toll in Alabama. It is not unusual for patients to travel up to 8 hours to reach us because so many other providers have been forced to close.

Abortion is healthcare. The Women’s Health Protection Act would bring needed federal protections for my patients and safeguard their rights.”

Dr. Yashica Robinson, Medical Director, Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives

“Forty-seven years ago, the Supreme Court recognized in Roe that the right of personal liberty guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment includes the decision by a woman to end her pregnancy. As the Court would later explain, it is the promise of the Constitution that there is a realm of personal liberty that the government may not enter.

[WHPA is] a meaningful, concrete step to ensuring that Roe is real for all women.”

Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights

This Wednesday, the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2019.

This is a big moment in our fight for reproductive rights, and lawmakers in Congress need see our support. Please join us to support this important bill!

WHEN:
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
10:00 a.m. EST

WHERE:
Rayburn House Office Building
Room 2123 – John D. Dingell Room
45 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20515

Don’t forget to tell your representatives to co-sponsor the Women’s Health Protection Act today!

Thanks to your hard work, the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2019 has a record 203 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. This is a huge milestone for WHPA and the Act for Women campaign!

Keep the momentum going by urging your representatives in Congress to cosponsor WHPA. Use this form to send a message today.

More than 51,000 people signed a petition calling on Congress to support the Women’s Health Protection Act. On July 23rd, the signatures were delivered to the House of Representatives.

Keep the momentum going by urging your Representative and Senators to co-sponsor WHPA today!

“We deserve to be heard; we deserve to be understood; and we will have our rights protected.” – Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D-PA) in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

This week, Congresswoman Madeleine Dean penned a deeply personal Op-Ed, highlighting the critical role access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare plays in protecting the health and safety of women and their families.

In this piece, the Congresswoman heralds WHPA as the federal policy solution needed to protect a person’s decision whether and when to become a parent. She also writes, “above all, we have to insist that this debate is not abstract. It is about real women making incredibly difficult choices in painful circumstances.”

Read the Op-Ed here.

“Everyone should be able to make their own decision about their health care, including the choice to terminate their pregnancy. And here in Oregon, the three of us are committed to it staying that way,” wrote Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Governor Kate Brown, and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum in a recent Op-Ed.

“At the federal level, Congresswoman Bonamici is tackling this issue with the Women’s Health Protection Act, which reaffirms a woman’s right to abortion free from burdensome restrictions, and the EACH Woman Act, which would make sure abortion care and other reproductive health services are covered for every person – no matter where they live, what their income is or whether they are insured.”

Read more in The Oregonian.

In a recently published op-ed, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA) urged her colleagues in Congress to join her in supporting and passing the Women’s Health Protection Act.

“Women’s health care is under assault like we’ve never seen before. States around the country are racing to enact bans on abortion, which will do nothing more than put women’s lives at risk,” wrote Congresswoman Davis.

“The supporters of these bills are clear in their objective: to repeal Roe v. Wade. It’s time to settle this issue once and for all. Congress must pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) to codify the Roe v. Wade decision into law.”

Read more in the Mission Times Courier.