Two bills have been introduced by House Democrats that would protect access to reproductive healthcare. The far right has attacked abortion rights and could potentially make contraception available to millions of Americans.
Representatives Jamie Raskin, Lizzie Fletcher (D.Texas), and Marilyn Strickland(D-Washington). introduced a bill on Thursday safeguarding people’s right to travel across state lines in order to obtain an abortion. The bill would make it illegal for anyone to try to restrict or prevent an abortion seeker from traveling across state lines. It also applies to people who assist them in their travels and health care providers performing the medical procedure.
Far right politicians in states like TexasThey are currently drafting legislation to prohibit people from traveling to get abortion care. The Biden administration has vowed to fight such laws, saying that they impede upon people’s right to freely travel across the U.S., but the Democrats’ bill would give the federal government an explicit directive to bring civil action against people found in violation of the law. It would also allow people who were affected by the violation of the law to seek relief through legal action.
“Lawmakers in several states, including my home state of Texas, are now threatening to interfere with the constitutional right of Americans to travel freely and voluntarily within the United States for the purpose of obtaining abortion care. These efforts violate the fundamental rights guaranteed to all citizens,” Fletcher said in a statement. “These efforts to deprive Americans of their constitutional rights must be stopped, and Congress has the power and the responsibility to do so.”
On Thursday, representatives Pramila Jayapal (D–Washington), and Mike Thompson (D–California). introduced a billThis would codify the right of contraception into law. The bill would prohibit states from restricting contraceptives access in any way. It would also allow the Department of Justice civil action against those who violate the law. It would ensure access to a wide range contraceptives, including IUDs and condoms.
“When it comes to our reproductive freedom, it is clear that this right-wing, extremist Supreme Court will not stop at stripping us of our right to safe and legal abortion,” Jayapal said in a statement. “It is incumbent on us to ensure that our right to reproductive health care remains protected.”
The Supreme Court issued its decision on Dobbs v. JacksonJustice Clarence Thomas wrote that the Court had overturned the federal right for abortion access access. You should also examine this matter soon.The right to gay marriage and to contraception as protected by Obergefell v. Hodges Griswold v. Connecticut, respectively.
In explicitly Christofascist move, Republicans are already looking toContraception is illegal and cruelly denied. Access to both contraception as well as abortifacients are essential to a safe and just healthcare system. Contraceptives, however, are not abortifacients. They all work to prevent conception in some manner.
A new executive order from President Joe Biden will help protectAccess to birth control and the right to have an out-of state abortion. The organization of pro bono legal resources to help abortion providers and seekers. While this executive order may provide legal cover for people while Biden is president, codifying congressional Democrats’ bills into law would provide a more permanent solution that would be harder to overturn if a Republican were to win the presidency in 2024.
