As State Legislative Sessions Begin, Planned Parenthood Organizations, Supporters, and Patients Call on State Lawmakers to Protect Abortion Access

Washington, D.C. — As state legislatures reconvene, local Planned Parenthood organizations across the country will host a series of virtual and in-person events in January and February, calling on lawmakers to introduce and advance state bills that will protect and expand access to safe and legal abortion. The 2022 legislative session follows a year of unprecedented state-level attacks on abortion rights across the country. Last year, more than 600 abortion restrictions were introduced, and more than 100 took effect. This includes Texas’s abortion ban at six weeks of pregnancy, Senate Bill 8, which has been in place for more than four months and has made abortion inaccessible for many Texans.

Several states, including New Hampshire and Illinois, have already introduced legislation to expand or protect access to sexual and reproductive health care. However, lawmakers hostile to abortion rights, emboldened by the Supreme Court, are also working to ban abortion in Missouri, Florida, Ohio, and other states. Yesterday, New Jersey became the first state to expand sexual and reproductive health care this session, when it passed legislation to protect the right to abortion and provide coverage of birth control prescriptions for 12 months, all at once.

Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

“Last year was devastating for abortion rights, and with the Supreme Court set to decide the fate of our fundamental right to control our own bodies, everything is on the line. Lawmakers at all levels of government must listen to their constituents and work to protect, expand, and champion abortion access. Those who instead continue to try to control our bodies will be met by a wave of resistance with a clear message: We won't go back. Our humanity and dignity are not up for debate. This legislative session, local Planned Parenthood organizations and sexual and reproductive rights supporters across the country are again committed to making real policy change and demanding affordable, accessible reproductive health care, state by state and law by law.”

State legislative launch events include:

This week: Mobilization events in Tennessee on 1/11, Florida on 1/12, and Kentucky on 1/13 (virtual)
Week of Jan. 17: Mobilization events Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and California
Week of Jan. 24: Mobilization events in Arizona, Michigan, Mississippi, and Wisconsin

More state mobilization events will be announced in the coming weeks.

This summer, the Supreme Court is set to rule in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO), a challenge to a Mississippi abortion ban. The court could uphold the law and decimate the constitutional right to an abortion guaranteed by Roe v. Wade. Should that happen, more than 36 million women of reproductive age and more people who can become pregnant in 26 mostly southern and midwestern states could lose access to abortion. Due to systemic racism and white supremacy, these bans — as well as other barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health — will disproportionately harm Latino, Black, and Indigenous communities, people with low incomes, those living in rural areas, and people with disabilities.

So far, since state legislative sessions began this year, lawmakers have pre-filed or introduced more than 30 bills aimed at restricting abortion rights, including legislation to mandate unnecessary ultrasounds and ban abortion outright or after six weeks. More than a dozen bills protecting and expanding access to abortion have also been filed so far in states across the country, including legislation, like state laws, to protect the right to abortion and repeal unnecessary limitations on the types of providers authorized to provide abortions.

For more information on any of these events, please email [email protected].

###

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care for all people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect, and without judgment, striving to create equitable access to health care. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable education and information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives. Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports the independently incorporated Planned Parenthood affiliates operating health centers across the U.S.