The Women's Health Protection Act and Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act will now go to the Senate

Press Release

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8296, the Women's Health Protection Act, and H.R. 8297, the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, to protect reproductive freedom nationwide and stop Republican state legislatures from criminalizing, fining, or suing Americans who exercise their constitutional right to travel across state lines to obtain a lawful abortion. U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) was a cosponsor and voted in favor of both bills. Since the Supreme Court reversed nearly 50 years of legal precedent by overturning Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion, at least nine states, including Missouri, have banned abortion, with more bans expected soon.

"Since the Supreme Court made the extreme and disastrous decision to upend fifty years of legal precedent by overturning Roe and rescinding a constitutional right, we've seen numerous states, like Missouri, immediately take steps to criminalize the reproductive care that millions of Americans rely on," said Congressman Cleaver. "It is absolutely imperative that Democrats in Congress take immediate steps to protect a women's right to reproductive freedom and prevent states from using the law as a weapon against women and healthcare providers. As long as I am the Representative for the Fifth Congressional District, I will do everything in my power to defend a woman's constitutional right to choose, including advocating for a carve out of the filibuster to pass these critical pieces of legislation."

Following the Texas State Legislature's passage of S.B. 8, an onerous and restrictive law banning abortion in nearly all circumstances after six weeks, in 2021, the number of people traveling to nearby states for abortions increased tenfold. While dozens of major companies have announced policies that cover travel expenses for employees seeking abortion care who are unable to obtain the service in their own state, Republican politicians have proposed extreme legislation aimed at preventing women from crossing state lines to obtain an abortion, including criminalizing those that provide assistance. One such bill was proposed

by a Missouri state legislator, which would allow private citizens to sue anyone who helps an individual obtain an abortion, including out-of-state physicians and any other person who helps get the patient across state lines.

To protect women, healthcare providers, and others, the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act would ensure no person acting under state law, can prevent restrict, impede, or otherwise retaliate against a person traveling across state lines to obtain a lawful abortion. Additionally, the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act would prohibit interference against:

A health care provider's ability to provide, initiate, or enable an abortion service that is lawful in the state in which the service is to be provided;
A person's ability to assist a health care provider to provide, initiate, or enable an abortion service that is lawful in the state in which the service is to be provided;
A person or entity's ability to assist someone traveling across a state line for the purpose of obtaining an abortion that is lawful in the state in which the service is to be provided; and
The movement in interstate commerce of any drug approved or licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for the termination of a pregnancy.

The Women's Health Protection Act would once again make the protections afforded under Roe v. Wade the law nationwide. Before the Supreme Court's decision, Congressman Cleaver and the House of Representatives previously voted
to pass the Women's Health Protection Act in September 2021; however, due to a Republican filibuster blocking a vote on the bill, it has stalled in the Senate.

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