House Democrats on Thursday reintroduced the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would enshrine federal abortion rights, among other protections to abortion access.
The bill, re-introduced in the House for the seventh time, would legally protect providing and accessing abortion care nationwide for patients and abortion providers. It also includes proposed protections for interstate travel for abortion care, as well as for people who assist others in accessing abortion care.
The legislation would restore nationwide abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that for decades protected abortion rights. Fourteen states have totally or almost completely banned abortion, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
“Congress can restore what the Supreme Court has broken,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.
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Women’s Health Protection Act re-introduced for seventh time in House
Earlier this month, Senate Democrats also introduced the WHPA.
“We need to codify the protections that Roe v. Wade gave to American women more than 50 years ago so that the freedom to make personal decisions about reproductive health isn’t completely dependent on your zip code,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in a statement at the time.
The bill was re-introduced in the House on Thursday with 208 co-sponsors. Last year, the WHPA was introduced with 176 supporters in the House and 48 in the Senate. The House voted to pass the bill, but it did not garner the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
The bill is unlikely to make it past the Republican-controlled House.
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House Democrats decry abortion bans
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., decried the abortion bans and criminalization of abortion providers and patients seen since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“House Democrats believe in a woman’s freedom to make her own reproductive health care decisions,” he said at a Thursday news conference. “…And we will not rest until the Women’s Health Protection Act is the law of the land.”
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said the bill is among House Democrats’ top 10 priorities this session and is intended to protect abortion rights “from the state level abortion bans that chip away at reproductive freedom.”
“Every person, no matter their circumstances, no matter how they became pregnant, deserves dignity, safety and care in seeking an abortion,” she said at the Thursday news conference. “…We cannot have true equality in this country until we have reproductive freedom for all.”
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Contact Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.