McEachin Votes to Protect the Right to Reproductive Health Care

Press Release

Today, Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) helped pass H.R. 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act, to enshrine access to reproductive health care into law for everyone in America.

"In 1973, the Supreme Court affirmed a woman's right to choose in Roe v. Wade; however, states have begun to pass restrictive laws that chip away and undermine that precedent," said Rep. McEachin (VA-04). "These attacks seek to circumvent women's access to reproductive health care and will disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, including low-income women, women of color, young Americans, the LGBTQ+ community, and individuals living in rural communities. The reality is that abortion rates continue to decrease while support for reproductive health care remains strong. I am proud to be an original cosponsor and help pass this crucial legislation to reinforce and codify a woman's constitutional right to choose."

Increasingly around the country, state legislatures are proposing and enacting laws to restrict or effectively eliminate access to reproductive healthcare. Between 2011 and 2017, states enacted more than 400 medically unnecessary restrictions to abortion care. These laws force people in need of abortions to travel to other states to receive care, which can be dangerous and cost restrictive.

These restrictions and bans are becoming more extreme. In 2019 and 2020, state lawmakers in seven states have passed bans on abortion at 6 and 8 weeks of pregnancy, before many people even know they are pregnant. Today, nearly 90 percent of American counties are without a single abortion provider, and 27 cities have become "abortion deserts" because people who live there must travel 100 miles or more to reach a provider.

The Women's Health Protection Act would:

Codify the constitutional right to an abortion found in Roe v. Wade,
Create federal protections against state laws that fail to protect women's health and that intrude upon personal decision-making, and
Prohibit medically unwarranted restrictions that single out abortion services or the facilities that provide them.
Read the full bill text here.

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