Media Contact: Patrick Wright -- Patrick.Wright@mail.house.gov
Washington, D.C. — Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. voted for two bills today that would protect women’s rights to make their own health care choices.
The first bill, the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 (H.R. 8296) guarantees the right to reproductive health care for all Americans, regardless of state laws to limit it. The bill gives health care providers the right to provide it without unnecessary restrictions.
The second bill, The Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act of 2022 (H.R. 8297) would make sure that no state could prevent, restrict, or retaliate against a person who travels across state lines to obtain a lawful abortion. In addition, it prohibits interference against a health care provider’s ability to provide an abortion service that is lawful in the state in which the service is provided or any actions to prohibit health care workers and other Americans from assisting in such a service. It empowers the U.S. Attorney General to bring civil actions in cases where a person is prevented, restricted, impeded or retaliated against for traveling across state lines to obtain a lawful abortion.
“Women should have to right to determine their own health care choices without any government interference,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. “The recent Supreme Court decision to remove this right from women is a travesty. These two bills would return that right to women and make it federal law so no one could take it from them again. I hope the Senate votes to pass both of them soon. Women should be the only ones to determine the best reproductive care options for their health and safety.”
These bills establish a federal statutory right for health care providers to give women access to abortion free from unnecessary state bans and restrictions intended to impede or block access. They would guarantee access to such care without fears that states will target abortion with laws that do not address other medical procedures with similar risks. In addition, they provide this access to all American women regardless of background or location within the United States. They would take the power to make personal health care decisions out of the hands of state governors and legislatures and put it back in the hands of patients and doctors.
Original source can be found here.
