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

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