Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined more than 200 of their Senate and House colleagues to introduce the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), bicameral federal legislation to guarantee equal access to abortion. The bill’s introduction comes as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in a case that directly threatens 50 years of precedent protecting access to abortion, and as several states continue to pass anti-choice laws.
“Every person deserves the right to make their own health care decisions, but across the country, politicians are attempting to strip away reproductive rights,” said Bennet.“In the face of challenges to Roe v. Wade, it is more important than ever for Congress to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to enshrine access to reproductive care into law once and for all.”
“For over 50 years, the law has supported a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions,” said Hickenlooper. “But state legislatures and conservative groups are still working nonstop to strip that right away. We must protect Roe v. Wade now and forever.”
The WHPA would guarantee a pregnant person’s right to access an abortion — and the right of an abortion provider to deliver these abortion services — free from medically unnecessary restrictions that interfere with a patient’s individualchoice or the provider-patient relationship.
“Coloradans overwhelmingly support abortion rights, whether they’re Democrats, Republicans, or Unaffiliated,” said Cobalt President Karen Middleton. “If the Supreme Court overturnsRoe v. Wade next June, 24 states could immediately prohibit abortion entirely. Colorado is not one of them — but we also don’t have anything protective of abortion access in state law, which is why we need the Women’s Health Protection Act.”
The WHPA has 45 co-sponsors in the Senate and 171 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. The bill text is available HERE.