The Women's Health Protection Act — by now, you've probably heard of it, but do you know why this legislation is so important to help protect the right to abortion nationwide? Check out these four facts about WHPA, and make sure to demand your senators support this bill when it comes up for a vote — we're pushing for that to happen this month!

Four Facts: The Women's Health Protection Action (WHPA)

#1: WHPA would make the right to abortion protected by a federal statute — for the first time ever.

“But, wait, isn't abortion legal right now because of Roe v. Wade?”

Yes, exactly. The only reason abortion is legal nationwide is because the Supreme Court recognized our constitutional right to abortion in 1973. We've never had a law written and passed by members of Congress that establishes a nationwide right to abortion. It's WAY past due.

#2: WHPA would protect against harmful and unnecessary abortion restrictions.

WHPA establishes the statutory right to abortion. If it's passed, patients would have the right to receive abortion free from medically unnecessary restrictions or abortion bans.

WHPA could reduce the number of medically unnecessary hoops people need to jump through just to get an abortion, like invasive ultrasounds and other coercive measures.

WHPA would also prohibit states from targeting abortion providers with regulations that don't apply to other health care providers — like making only abortion providers secure hard-to-get credentials.

People are already experiencing these kinds of restrictions in states where lawmakers have passed law after law that chip away at abortion access. These restrictions especially harm patients with lower incomes, those in rural communities, LGBTQ+ patients, Black patients, and other patients of color who already face discrimination due to structural racism and other barriers to health care.

Many people have been forced to travel up to hundreds or thousands of miles to other states to access abortion, in addition to taking time off work, finding child care, and still facing harmful restrictions. WHPA would help to protect against attacks like these on abortion access.

#3: WHPA would help protect safe, legal abortion with Roe at risk.

If the Supreme Court unravels or overturns Roe v. Wade, your right to abortion will depend on where you live or what resources you have to get to a state where abortion is more accessible. And even if you live in a state that already protects abortion, demand will skyrocket in your state because people who live in states where abortion is banned have to travel there for this essential health care.

WHPA would help protect our right to abortion nationwide, regardless of how the Supreme Court rules later this year.

#4: WHPA needs YOUR help!

First introduced in 2013, WHPA received its first vote in Congress in September 2021, when the House of Representatives passed the bill 218 to 211. Now, the Senate needs to do its job and pass WHPA so President Biden can sign it before the Supreme Court rules in the Mississippi abortion ban case later this year.

Passing WHPA should not be controversial. According to a recent poll sponsored by our friends at the Center for Reproductive Rights, "61% of voters nationally support passage of a national law that would protect the constitutional right to access abortion. ⁽¹⁾

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment and the Senate needs to hear your voice! We don't stop fighting just because there are obstacles. We wouldn't have anything — abortion access, copay-free birth control, Planned Parenthood health centers, any of it — if we only fought the easy fights.

So, take a minute right now to email your senators — to support the Women's Health Protection Act. And share this email with your friends. You can find Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter versions of it to share, as well!

Planned Parenthood Action Fund

^{1. https://reproductiverights.org/hart-research-poll-whpa-2021/}