Issue # 12 WOMEN'S HEALTH PROTECTION ACT

KEEP ABORTION ACCESSIBLE, SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT

QUICK QUIZ
Is there a way to ensure people’s legal access to reproductive services?
Have you heard of the Women’s Health Protection Act?


Women’s Health Protection Act
We don’t have to wait to hear the fate of Roe v. Wade. We can take action NOW. The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which would create federal protection for abortion, passed the US House of Representative in September 2021. The Senate may be voting on this act as soon as Monday, February 28.

State lawmakers have passed hundreds of restrictive laws making abortion care extremely difficult to access for many people. This bill will eliminate unnecessary restrictions and bans on abortion—including mandatory waiting periods, biased counseling, two-trip requirements, and mandatory ultrasounds.
WHPA states that governments may not:

  • Limit a provider's ability to prescribe certain drugs, offer abortion services via telemedicine, or provide abortion services immediately when the provider determines a delay risks the patient's health

  • Require health providers to perform unnecessary medical procedures, provide medically inaccurate information, or comply with irrelevant credentialing policies

  • Require a person to disclose their reasons for seeking reproductive health services

  • Prohibit abortion services based on fetal viability

Basically, the legislation prohibits measures that impede access to abortion services and allows the US Department of Justice, individuals, or providers to bring lawsuits to enforce this policy if states do not comply.

Now that you know what’s at stake, will you contact your Senator to pass this bill? NOW!
Use this link: https://reproductiverights.org/whpa-take-action or call 1-202-601-3441.

OWRS (Older Women Remember and Speak Out) has developed Abortion: Talk About It, a series of short emails with reliable information that you can use to start conversations and support others doing the same. (Previous issues at Archive.) Share these emails on social media. Forward to friends, family and co-workers. Ask them to go to OWRSpeakout.org and sign up.

We can’t change something we don’t talk about!


From Older Women Remember and Speak Out
OWRS Issue #12, February 2022

OWRS