DeGette, Slaughter Call for GAO Investigation into Laws Restricting Women's Access to Reproductive Care

Press Release

Congresswomen Diana DeGette and Louise Slaughter (D-NY), co-chairs of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, today called for a Government Accountability Office investigation into the many barriers women face at the state and local levels when trying to access reproductive medical care, including abortion services.

"We are very concerned about growing trends in the enactment of state and local laws that make reproductive health services inaccessible to women," DeGette and Slaughter wrote in a letter to Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States. "Without realistic access to care, many women lack any practical ability to exercise their constitutional right to choose. GAO's study pursuant to this request will support us in our efforts to ensure the women's fundamental reproductive rights are both meaningful and protected."

In 1973, the Supreme Court made clear that the Constitution protects a woman's choice to have an abortion in the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The Court reaffirmed this right in June in its decision in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, which struck down Texas H.B. 2, a state law that placed extreme and unnecessary regulations on abortion providers. The decision also further clarified the "undue burden" standard as it relates to a woman's fundamental right to have an abortion.

Nevertheless, many states have restricted access with policies targeting clinics, doctors, or women themselves. In the letter to Comptroller General Dodaro, DeGette and Slaughter expressed concern about the negative impact that Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers, often referred to as "TRAP laws," are having on women across the country. The congresswomen remain concerned that many state and local laws continue to deprive women of any meaningful right to choose, restricting their constitutional rights.

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