Women’s Health Protection Act Re-Introduced in Congress

In early June, congressional health care champions re-introduced the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) in Congress. This critical legislation would protect the right to abortion throughout the United States and guard against medically unnecessary abortion restrictions, even if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, by establishing a statutory right to provide and receive abortion care. While passing WHPA will not grant all people equitable access to abortion and other essential health care overnight, it is an essential step to protect and advance abortion access in the U.S.

The need to pass WHPA became more urgent last month when the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would hear its first case on abortion access since Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court. That case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is a direct challenge to precedent set by Roe v. Wade guaranteeing our constitutional right to abortion. Overturning Roe would put more than 25 million people at risk of losing abortion access. We know that these attacks are not popular — 79% of Americans support the right to safe, legal abortion, and we will continue to do all we can to ensure that everyone can make their own decisions about their health and their lives.

Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

“The majority of Americans know: Abortion is safe, essential health care. Yet state politicians across the country have been doing all they can to block people from this care, and our nation’s highest court is about to hear a case that could undermine our constitutional right to abortion. A person’s ability to access reproductive health care should never be determined by their ZIP code or their income. The Women’s Health Protection Act would bring us one step closer to a world where everyone can take full control of their bodies and their futures.”

Unfortunately, the attack on abortion access being considered by the court is far from an anomaly. The 2021 state legislative season is shaping up to be the most hostile in recent history for reproductive health and rights. State lawmakers, emboldened by the new makeup of the Supreme Court and the more than 200 federal judges the Trump administration appointed, are rushing to control our rights and freedoms. According to the Guttmacher Institute, over 500 abortion restrictions have been introduced this year, and nearly 70 of those have already been passed and signed.

Fortunately, in California we have legal protections in place that guarantee the right to access an abortion. Elsewhere, these dangerous attempts to restrict access to care will have devastating consequences, especially for people who already face systemic barriers to care — Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, the LGBTQ+ community, young people, those living in rural communities, people with disabilities, and people with low incomes.

While a decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization will not be available until spring or summer of 2022, we’ll continue to keep you updated as this case moves forward. As always, we’ll keep working with our partners to ensure everyone can access the reproductive health care they need and deserve.