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Democrat,
Is a “right” really a “right” if you can’t access it or you can’t afford it?
Back in January, Governor Murphy signed the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act after it was passed by Democrats in the Legislature under the leadership of former Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, former Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, former Senate President Steve Sweeney, and Speaker Craig Coughlin, among others. This bill codified the health care freedoms of Roe v. Wade into state law. We wanted to ensure that every generation of New Jerseyans would be guaranteed the right to control their own body and to decide whether and when to become a parent, regardless of any attempts to interfere in that choice.
Now it is clearer than ever that, in the coming weeks, a right-wing majority on the Supreme Court will likely take a wrecking ball to 50 years of its own precedent and, for the very first time, overturn a decision in order to diminish our rights.
We understand the threat that restricting abortion care poses to so many. We understand that doing so pushes pregnant individuals outside of the medical landscape and places them in danger of surveillance, punishment, and criminalization. No one should be criminalized for getting the care they need. Abortion is health care and health care decisions should be left up to the individual.
We want to remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that all New Jerseyans have access to reproductive health care, including abortion, and that we stand with women across the nation who are facing inevitable hardships on the horizon.
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Last week, Gov. Murphy stood with legislators and announced proposed legislation to ensure equal access to the reproductive rights that were recently codified into law [[link removed]] – because we know that “without access, rights mean nothing”.
The new legislation includes two very important provisions that were not part of the final Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act:
*
Codifying
into
state
law
regulatory
changes
that
expand
New
Jersey's
pool
of
potential
abortion
providers
to
include
advanced
practice
nurses,
midwives,
and
physician
assistants.


*
Mandating
that
insurance
plans
in
New
Jersey
cover
abortion
with
no
cost
sharing
or
out-of-pocket
expenses.
A
person’s
ability
to
access
abortion
care
should
not
depend
on
how
much
money
they
make.
If
we
are
going
to
guarantee
the
right
to
an
abortion,
we
need
to
guarantee
access
to
an
abortion
.
In addition, we are recommending two new proposals:
*
Protecting
medical
providers
and
patients
who
provide
or
receive
abortion
care
in
New
Jersey
from
legal
actions
initiated
by
states
who
have
outlawed
abortion.


*
Establishing
a
Reproductive
Health
Access
Fund
that
would
provide
clinical
training
grants
to
expand
the
number
of
health
care
providers
with
abortion
training,
grants
to
at-risk
health
care
sites
for
security,
and
additional
funding
to
assist
providers
in
providing
reproductive
health
care
services
to
uninsured
and
underinsured
women.
We will also not be cooperating with any out of state investigation into our health care providers that seeks to punish anyone – patient, provider, counselor, friend, or Uber driver – for providing abortion care. [[link removed]]
I hope this legislation makes our position in New Jersey obvious. I hope it will ensure that all women have access to the reproductive rights enshrined in New Jersey law. I hope it brings hope to all of the advocates working so hard across the nation to protect reproductive rights. I hope it brings relief to anyone in another state who needs to come to New Jersey for necessary and safe health care. And I hope it sends a message to other women across the nation that we simply will not go backwards.
- Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver
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Paid for by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.
New Jersey Democratic State Committee
194-196 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
United States
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