Duckworth, Murray, Hirono, Lee Reintroduce Each Act to Guarantee Abortion Coverage Regardless of A Patient's Insurance

Press Release

U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA-13) today reintroduced the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Healthcare (EACH) Act, a bicameral bill to guarantee abortion coverage--regardless of how a patient gets their health insurance. The EACH Act ends the Hyde Amendment and lifts unjust abortion coverage restrictions for those who depend on Medicaid and other government-sponsored plans. The bill protects the constitutionally-protected right to abortion and helps ensure everyone can get the reproductive healthcare they need.

"The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed a person's constitutional right to make their own reproductive decisions, making clear that the government has no place getting in between individuals and their doctors," said Senator Duckworth. "But for decades, conservative lawmakers have worked to whittle down that constitutionally-protected right to the point where it's now effectively inaccessible for low-income people who rely on Medicaid, for service-members and for millions more Americans nationwide. The Supreme Court didn't protect these rights only for the wealthy few, and they didn't say only for those who live in certain states. That kind of discrimination is not right, not fair and it's certainly not equal--so I'm proud to be joined by my colleagues in introducing the EACH Act, so that every person in this country has equal access to their constitutionally-protected rights, no matter income, race or zip code."

Today, abortion coverage restrictions like the Hyde Amendment impact more than 13 million people--primarily those struggling to make ends meet, people of color, young people and immigrants. These harmful policies make it harder, if not impossible, for patients to afford an abortion or find a local provider. Abortion coverage restrictions also compound the harms from systemic racism, economic insecurity and immigration status--ultimately denying millions of patients their constitutional right to an abortion.

The EACH Act would end this injustice and help ensure individuals don't just have the right to abortion on paper, but also in practice. This bold legislation finally ends the decades-long restriction on abortion for patients on government-sponsored healthcare plans and helps ensure every person can get the reproductive healthcare they need--no matter their income, race, zip code or how they get healthcare.

Recent polling data also show that 62% of voters support lifting federal abortion coverage restrictions and believe Medicaid should cover abortion.

In addition to Duckworth, Murray, and Hirono, the Senate bill was co-sponsored by: U.S. Senators Cortez Masto (D-NV), Shaheen (D-NH), Klobuchar (D-MN), Blumenthal (D-CT), Brown (D-OH), Warren (D-MA), Gillibrand (D-NY), Whitehouse (D-RI), Rosen (D-NV), Feinstein (D-CA), Merkley (D-OR), Hassan (D-NH), Bennet (D-CO), Markey (D-MA), Smith (D-MN), Murphy (D-CT), Booker (D-NJ), Van Hollen (D-MD), Sanders (I-VT) and Wyden (D-OR).

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