URGE RESPONDS TO SENATE’S FAILURE TO PASS THE WOMEN’S HEALTH PROTECTION ACT
February 28, 2022
Kwentoria A. Williams
kwwilliams@urge.org
WASHINGTON – Today, in a 46-48 vote the U.S. Senate refused to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA). URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity is disappointed by the Senate’s vote on this necessary legislation that would move us one step closer to real abortion access for all.
WHPA is bold federal legislation that creates a statutory right for healthcare providers to provide abortion care, and a corresponding right for their patients to receive that care, free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion and impede access. At a time when states like Texas and Mississippi have launched attacks on Reproductive Justice, it is critical that the federal government steps in to defend abortion care across our nation.
Yet, despite these consistent and dangerous attacks on abortion, many politicians continue to fail their constituents’ communities. Today, the politicians we put in office to serve our communities proved that they are unconcerned with ensuring our healthcare decisions are left up to us. Restrictions and attempts to ban abortion across the country interfere with people’s access to abortion. These interferences disproportionately affect LGBTQIA+ young people, low-income people, and young Black, Indigenous, & other People of Color (BIPOC).
Young people are demanding a future with real access to abortion, policies that support them, and a culture where decisions are met with dignity and support. It is the job of our Members of Congress to deliver. We thank the Senators who voted yes, using their voice in the fight to make reproductive justice a reality for all Americans. We thank you for your vote to ensure extreme anti-abortion legislation like Texas’ SB 8 is never allowed to become law and never allowed to stop pregnant people from making their own choices. To achieve a reality of reproductive justice for all, we need policymakers like you who are committed to making sure our healthcare decisions are only up to us even when your colleagues don’t stand with you.
WHPA may not have passed today, but young people in the South and Midwest will not stop fighting for real abortion access and we will continue to defend our reproductive freedom. With or without the support of politicians, we will not stop until we reach the day when our decisions are truly our own.
