Should Congress protect a person’s ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy and protect a health care provider’s ability to provide abortion services?
This bill would protect the rights of anyone capable of becoming pregnant to choose whether or not they want to have an abortion under the federal government. It would also protect healthcare providers’ right to provide abortion services. This bill will allow patients seeking abortion services to be provided accurate information that follows the proper medical procedure. The bill would allow anyone, no matter what state they reside in, to seek safe and accessible abortion services, and for health care providers to provide these services in that manner.
Sponsor: Senator Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, Connecticut)
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Opponents say
• "Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins called members of the U.S. House to vote NO on Friday against the deceptively named “Women’s Health Protection Act,” which is “an abortion industry wish list for power and control over abortion policy and state options that far surpasses the heavy-handed impact of Roe v. Wade. Using the term ‘health’ in the bill is especially deceitful because abortion kills an innocent and can end a woman’s ability to ever have a child. Real healthcare works to save life, fertility, and preserve health." Source: Students for Life Action
• "The bill before us would invalidate these state laws and would allow abortion providers to set the standard of care for their patients with no oversight from the states. It would allow health care workers to determine when a life is viable, which will lead to inconsistent practices across the country and endanger the lives of mothers everywhere." Source: Senator Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa)
Proponents say
• " We need to vote to codify Roe v. Wade through the Women’s Health Protection Act to stop all of the restrictions, the bans, the TRAP laws, all of the impediments to women having access to health care and going back to an age where literally women died seeking abortion." Source: Senator Richard Blumenthal (Democrat, Connecticut)
• "By protecting abortion access from medically unnecessary restrictions that obstruct the right of all persons to obtain safe, legal abortion services, the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) seeks to remedy and prevent the onslaught of state-level abortion bans and restrictions that cause significant and sometimes insurmountable challenges to receiving abortion care. These restrictions disproportionately impact the ability of low-income women and women of color to access health care, robs pregnant people of bodily autonomy, and threatens the economic security of families and individuals, many of whom are already struggling to get by." Source: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• "We know that the right to privacy in the healthcare industry is a bipartisan value, which is evidenced by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), in which legislators came together to set standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient's knowledge or consent. Access to reproductive healthcare is no exception." Source: League of Women Voters
- Blumenthal & Senate Democrats Demand Action to Protect Reproductive Healthcare & Defend Roe v. Wade
- Statement From Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Passing of the Women’s Health Protection Act (White HousePress Release)
- A bill to codify abortion protections fails in the Senate (NPR)
- House Passes Two Bills Seeking to Ensure Access to Abortion (New York Times)
