women's health protection act

There has been a flurry of executive and Congressional action after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade. Leila Abolfazli, Director of Federal Reproductive Rights at the National Women’s Law Center, sits down to talk with us about executive and Congressional measures being taken on abortion rights in the United States.

The executive order issued by the Biden administration is split into four main sections that: 1) directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on actions to take; 2) convenes private, pro-bono attorneys and Bar associations in an effort to represent patients, providers, and other third parties who lawfully seeking or providing reproductive health care; 3) asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to protect people’s online data when seeking information about or seeking abortion care; and 4) outlines other laws that HHS can support, including strengthening the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and creating an HHS-Gender Policy Council taskforce that coordinates federal agency response to abortion. You can find additional information about this executive order here.

Congress held five hearings after the release of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in the House Oversight Committee, House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Judiciary Committee, Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee. The House passed a bill called the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, which would ensure protection of those crossing state lines to receive an abortion. In addition, the House passed the Women’s Health Protection Act which would cement a federal right to abortion. The Respect for Marriage Act passed in the House would protect same-sex marriage, while the Right to Contraception Act passed in the House would protect the right to birth control access. Lastly, the Senate voted on emergency funding for Title X clinics—family planning clinics across the United States that provides millions of people with basic healthcare. 

Links
National Women’s Law Center on Twitter

National Women’s Law Center on Facebook

Follow Us on Social:
Twitter: @rePROsFightBack
Instagram: @reprosfb
Facebook: rePROs Fight Back

Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com
Rate and Review on Apple Podcast

Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Last week the Democratic-led Senate forced a vote on a radical abortion bill—but the big story is what didn't happen. 

We’re talking about the Women's Health Protection Act of 2022. The Democratic leadership claimed that this bill would codify Roe v. Wade, it actually would have gone even further. The legislation as proposed would have basically allowed for abortion all the way up until the moment of birth for any reason, or for that matter, for no reason at all.

But the Senate vote to forward the bill was 49 to 51—falling far short of the 60 votes needed to advance. But what is notable—and what news media didn’t really note—is that proponents did not even gain a bare majority.

What does that vote tell us? All but one Democrat voted for the bill and not a single Republican voted for it. What does that tell you? It simply highlights that on the issue of abortion, we are now looking at a clear, predictable, unmistakable partisan divide. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week the Democratic-led Senate forced a vote on a radical abortion bill—but the big story is what didn't happen. 

We’re talking about the Women's Health Protection Act of 2022. The Democratic leadership claimed that this bill would codify Roe v. Wade, it actually would have gone even further. The legislation as proposed would have basically allowed for abortion all the way up until the moment of birth for any reason, or for that matter, for no reason at all.

But the Senate vote to forward the bill was 49 to 51—falling far short of the 60 votes needed to advance. But what is notable—and what news media didn’t really note—is that proponents did not even gain a bare majority.

What does that vote tell us? All but one Democrat voted for the bill and not a single Republican voted for it. What does that tell you? It simply highlights that on the issue of abortion, we are now looking at a clear, predictable, unmistakable partisan divide. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a long-proven theory: Conservatives are, in general, happier, more successful and better looking than liberals. Doug explains how and why.
Commusocialists seek to pass the "Woman's Health Protection Act," which would strike down over 500 State laws in America.
Plus: There is a rampage of food factory fires in the United States. Doug provides analysis that no one else is offering. 

Erin Ryan and Alyssa Mastromonaco talk about the Senate vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act, start their own religion and come for your semen. Then Michaela Watkins and Akilah Hughes talk about the Matt Gaetz tweet and the “cat lady” trope. Plus, I Feel Petty!

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

The culture of death had a big win in the House of Representatives last week. Democrats pushed through legislation known as the Women’s Health Protection Act. It is one of the most radical pro-abortion pieces of legislation adopted anywhere, anytime on planet earth. 

The final vote was 218 to 211. Every single vote in favor of the bill was a Democrat. 

This bill would allow for sex-selection abortions. It would allow for abortion of unborn babies marked by the genetic pattern for down syndrome. It would effectively do away with all state-level restrictions on abortion. And: It would effectively allow those abortions all the way up until the point of birth.

This is where we are. This isn’t a hypothetical piece of legislation. This is actual legislation that in space and time and history passed the United States House of Representatives, on a party-line vote, just days ago.

Friday, September 24, 2021— a date that must live in infamy.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The culture of death had a big win in the House of Representatives last week. Democrats pushed through legislation known as the Women’s Health Protection Act. It is one of the most radical pro-abortion pieces of legislation adopted anywhere, anytime on planet earth. 

The final vote was 218 to 211. Every single vote in favor of the bill was a Democrat. 

This bill would allow for sex-selection abortions. It would allow for abortion of unborn babies marked by the genetic pattern for down syndrome. It would effectively do away with all state-level restrictions on abortion. And: It would effectively allow those abortions all the way up until the point of birth.

This is where we are. This isn’t a hypothetical piece of legislation. This is actual legislation that in space and time and history passed the United States House of Representatives, on a party-line vote, just days ago.

Friday, September 24, 2021— a date that must live in infamy.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Linda McClain, a BU School of Law professor of law, discusses what it would mean to codify Roe v. Wade, after Texas enacted one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. McClain also talks about previous attempts to codify Roe v. Wade, the Women’s Health Protection Act, and the future of abortion access in this country.

Note: A few days after this podcast was recorded, the US House of Representatives passed the Women's Health Protection Act. The act now goes to the Senate, where it is considered to be unlikely to pass.

To learn more about what the Texas Abortion Law means for the Future of Roe v. Wade, check out BU Today’s recent interview with Nicole Huberfeld, a BU School of Public Health and School of Law professor.

And you can learn more about the Women’s Health Protection Act here.

It’s no secret that state legislatures across the country are working tirelessly to restrict access to abortion care. From forcing patients to travel to neighboring states to stigma-based counseling sessions, accessing an abortion comes with countless hurdles. Jackie Blank, Federal Legislative Strategist and Campaign Manager for the Women’s Health Protection Act Campaign at the Center for Reproductive Rights, talks to us about how the Women’s Health Protection Act will ensure reproductive choice, bodily autonomy, and access to care in a time where abortion faces an unprecedented attack. 

Abortion is legal in all 50 states, but in 2021 alone, 90 abortion restrictions have been passed in legislatures across the country. Coverage of abortion care also faces extreme restrictions; the Hyde amendment prevents Medicaid, Medicare, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients from covering abortion at the federal level (Some states, 16, have a policy that directs Medicaid to cover all medically necessary abortions). These restrictions have created a state-based patchwork of care, forcing many to travel between states, traveling long distances within their own states, or being blocked from accessing abortion care altogether. This has disproportionate impact on communities that have historically been denied access to care, including Black communities, indigenous communities, communities of color, women, low-income people, those with disabilities, those living rurally, and LGBTQ+ folks. 

The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) would create a federal safeguard against laws (like Texas’ S.B. 8) that are meant to restrict access. By preventing the singling out of abortion care as opposed to other types of healthcare, WHPA would prevent impeding of access. WHPA specifically enumerates the types of bans that would violate the right to abortion care, including court rulings. In fact, WHPA would protect access to care even if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned. If WHPA were to be passed, patients wouldn’t have to be subject to limitations like stigma-based counseling, multiple trips to a provider, or expensive childcare costs.  

 Links

Center for Reproductive Rights on Twitter

Center for Reproductive Rights on Facebook

More Information on the Women’s Health Protection Act

S.1645 - Women’s Health Protection Act of 2019

Take Action 

Follow Center for Reproductive Rights on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date on their critical work.

It’s time to get the House moving on passing WHPA. Find a take action tool here to reach out to your Representatives and have them co-sponsor WHPA.  

Talk about WHPA on social media! Use the hashtag #ActForAbortionAccess and #WHPA and share why you think this legislation should be passed. 

Follow Us on Social:
Twitter: @rePROsFightBack
Instagram: @reprosfb
Facebook: rePROs Fight Back

Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com
Rate and Review on Apple Podcast

Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!

While Roe v. Wade may be the law of the land, abortion has always been inaccessible and a right on paper only for so many in the United States. Since the passage of Roe, there have been 1,200 abortion restrictions enacted, with 2021 on track to be one of the worst years for abortion restrictions. Jamille Fields-Allsbrook, Director of Women’s Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress and Nora Ellmann, Research Associate for Women’s Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress, sit down to talk with us about what actions need to be taken to ensure a proactive abortion agenda for the U.S. from their report, A Proactive Abortion Agenda: Federal and State Policies To Protect and Expand Access. 

First and foremost, the comprehensive right to abortion, without restriction and without political interference, must be codified at the legislative level. Championing laws like the Women’s Health Protection Act would help block many of these restrictions, such as 20-week bans and targeted regulation of abortion provider (TRAP) laws. Financial support for abortion access is also critical; passage of the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act would permanently repeal the Hyde Amendment and prohibits political interference with decisions by private insurance companies to cover abortion. Individual states can repeal harmful legislation and pass proactively progressive legislation to expand access to medication abortion, decriminalize self-managed abortion, and remove restrictions on physicians. 

At the executive level, it’s important that they select judicial nominees that are diverse and have backgrounds in civil rights, reproductive rights, and abortion rights. The President must also have a budget that doesn’t allow for federal funding restrictions, like the Hyde Amendment, on abortion access. Finally, undue regulations on abortion-related insurance billing practices must be repealed. Already, the current administration has increased access to medication abortion during the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about this step taken by the Biden administration, listen to our podcast episode here.

When it comes to the judiciary: we need to pay attention to the courts! Again, it’s critical that judges appointed to all levels of the U.S. court system come from diverse backgrounds and have supportive records for reproductive health, rights, and justice. The courts must continue to uphold precedent and respect abortion as a right that has been established under the Constitution. 

Follow Us on Social:
Twitter: @rePROsFightBack
Instagram: @reprosfb
Facebook: rePROs Fight Back

Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.com
Rate and Review on Apple Podcast

Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!