Should women have more equitable access to healthcare treatment?
This resolution recognizes the importance of women’s rights to access comprehensive, high-quality, life-affirming medical care for women of all ages. Such resolutions will bring more attention to women's healthcare issues and spotlight the significance of equitable access to preventative care, maternal health, and other medical services. One sector of the medical field that is not mentioned in this resolution is reproductive services such as abortion. Resolutions do not have the same effects as a bill but express the sentiments of the House of Representatives and can influence future policy initiatives. Sponsor: Rep. Andy Biggs (Republican, Arizona, District 5)
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How do you feel?
Opponents say
• "Reproductive justice, a term coined by women of color, goes beyond abortion. It’s about the right to have children, the right not to have children, and the right to parent in safe and supportive environments. This resolution is falling short of addressing these needs, instead favoring a narrow, ideologically driven view of women’s healthcare. While it may not have an immediate legislative impact, the introduction of this bill reflects a broader strategy to normalize restrictive policies and pave the way for more aggressive assaults on women’s healthcare and rights. This resolution must be understood, not as a harmless statement, but as part of a larger push to control women’s bodies and diminish their ability to make personal healthcare decisions." Source: Feminist Majority Foundation
• "The hard truth is that the Republican Party hurts women. They demonize them for their medical needs, cut off crucial health care, and they create loopholes to allow businesses to exclude coverage. To make sure these efforts stick, they pack the courts." Source: Sen. Mazie Hirono (Democrat, Hawaii)
• "Decisions about a woman’s health care should be made in her doctor’s office, not on the House floor. The bill passed by the House today is a sweeping assault on women’s health that aims to eliminate abortion coverage for millions, make Hyde and other abortion bans permanent - impacting low income women and disproportionately affecting women of color - and undermine a woman’s ability to make personal decisions about her own health care." Source: Planned Parenthood
Proponents say
• "After four dark years of ardent pro-abortion policies, we honor the chance to reassert that the United States will again embrace policies that promote women’s health, protect the right to life, and strengthen the families… ...The Biden administration’s decision to withhold crucial healthcare funding unless Oklahoma capitulates to its extreme abortion agenda is not just wrong, it sets a dangerous and coercive precedent. Access to essential healthcare should not be held hostage to advance a political agenda." Source: Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (Republican, Mississippi)
• "Health care is primarily a restorative function, one that helps our bodies heal. Abortion ends a human life. Abortion is not health care. Taxpayer dollars should NOT subsidize this abhorrent practice…They think if I’m ill, I’m going to take care with a doctor or medication, sometimes even surgery. But in an abortion, you’re talking about, instead of human life, that is placed at risk." Source: Rep. Andy Biggs (Republican, Arizona, District 5)
• "This important bipartisan legislation is the beginning of efforts toward eradicating preventable maternal death and improving maternal and infant health in the United States. It will accelerate progress toward ensuring that every state has a high-functioning process for identifying the causes of maternal mortality and translating recommendations made by maternal mortality review committees (MMRCs) to meaningful action." Source: Preeclampsia Foundation