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Dear Friend,
Every person should have the right to choose, when, how many, and if they are having children. And polls show the majority of people in the U.S. agree. But last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a dangerous bill that bans abortion at 6-weeks of pregnancy (most women do not know they’re pregnant by this stage) with no exception for rape or incest. [1] Similar attacks on abortion are happening in other states around the country. And on May 17th, the Supreme Court announced that it will take up a case that presents a direct and devastating challenge to Roe v. Wade. [2] This is not okay.
The Women’s Health Protection Act will protect the right to access abortion care throughout the U.S. by safeguarding access against bans and medically unnecessary restrictions, hundreds of which have been passed in recent years by state lawmakers.
We need this protection urgently! If Roe v. Wade fell tomorrow, 24 states would likely take action to dangerously prohibit abortion outright and 10 states already have "trigger bans" in place, which would ban abortion immediately. [3] Yet, even if the law is upheld, a report from the Guttmacher Institute tells us that we are already living through the most harmful state legislative session for reproductive and abortion healthcare that we’ve seen in a decade. [4][5]
Action is needed. The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) is an important step forward in ensuring that people have attainable access to quality, affordable, and compassionate reproductive services and abortion in their state. [6]
Tell your lawmaker to support the Women’s Health Protection Act NOW!
The fundamental right to make decisions about our bodies, lives, and futures is essential to the pursuit of racial, reproductive, and economic justice. Abortion restrictions are part of the intertwined systems of oppression that deny people their constitutional rights. The people hurt most by abortion restrictions are those who already face barriers to accessing health care—including women, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), those working to make ends meet, members of the LGBTQI+ community, immigrants, young people, those living in rural communities, people with disabilities, and mothers.
Most women who have abortions are already moms. [7] Being able to manage how many children we have and when we have them has been nothing short of revolutionary — not just for women and mothers, but for our country as a whole. It has helped to narrow the gender pay gap, improved the health of women and their families, and led women toward access to increased economic and political power.
Here’s what the petition reads:
Dear Member of Congress,
As one of over a million members of MomsRising, I am writing to ask that you support the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA)! WHPA is essential to social and economic equality, reproductive autonomy, and the right to determine our own lives. People hurt most by abortion restrictions are those who already face barriers to accessing health care—particularly Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), women, people working to make ends meet, immigrants, young people, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those living in rural and other medically underserved areas.
This must stop.
WHPA will protect the right to access abortion care throughout the U.S. by safeguarding access against bans and medically unnecessary restrictions, hundreds of which have been passed in recent years by anti-abortion state lawmakers. Anyone who needs an abortion in the United States, deserves quality, affordable medical care, and a relationship with their health care provider that is free from government intrusion. The WHPA protects these rights: Equal access to abortion, everywhere for everyone. Please support the WHPA!
What is most disturbing about the attacks on abortion care right now is that the global health pandemic is not over, we are still actively living through it, and barriers to abortion and reproductive healthcare have been exasperated for patients who need immediate care, inevitably pushing them further along into unwanted pregnancy and other damaging health circumstances.
Your voice matters. Sign our petition in support of the Women’s Health Protection Act!
We will continue to fight against laws that exploit people during the COVID-19 public health crisis and block access to health centers and clinics. Abortion is essential, time-sensitive health care, and a crucial tool in the fight to advance race and gender equity. It deserves to be treated as such.
Threats to abortion care threatens healthcare for all.
- Diarra, Tina, Kristin, Donna, and the whole MomsRising / MamásConPoder team
P.S. We want to be perfectly clear, abortion is still legal in every state in the United States, including in Mississippi, Texas, and Ohio as these laws have not taken effect yet. If you or someone you know needs an abortion, you are perfectly within your legal right to receive one. If you need help accessing an abortion or paying for one, go to the National Network of Abortion Funds.
References:
[1] “Texas governor signs extreme six-week abortion ban into law,” The Guardian, May 19. 2021.
[2] “Supreme Court to Hear Abortion Case Challenging Roe v. Wade,” New York Times, May 17, 2021.
[3] “What If Roe Fell?” Center for Reproductive Rights, May 19, 2021.
[4] “Biden’s Silence on Abortion Rights at a Key Moment Worries Liberals,” New York Times, May 27, 2021.
[5] “2021 Is on Track to Become the Most Devastating Antiabortion State Legislative Session in Decades,” Guttmacher Institute, May 18, 2021.
[6] “The Women’s Health Protection Act,” ACT for Women!
[7] "Characteristics of U.S. Abortion Patients in 2014 and Changes Since 2008,” Guttmacher Institute, May 2016.
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