300,000 petition signatures delivered to Senate for the protection of abortion rights under federal law

“Over the past several weeks, right-wing extremists have inched us closer and closer toward a society without the precedent of Roe v. Wade.”

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Yesterday, six advocacy groups delivered 300,000 petition signatures to the U.S. Senate demanding they protect and defend the right to abortion under the federal law. 

According to Common Dreams, the petition delivery and press conference outside the U.S. Capitol came ahead of hundreds of marches planned for Saturday across the country. Organizers of the #RallyforAbortionJustice events are calling on members of Congress to pass both the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act and the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA).

The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act would require coverage for abortion care through public health insurance programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, as well as insurance plans for federal employees. Further, abortion care must be available at federal, and federally supported, health care facilities to individuals eligible for services at such facilities. Additionally, the bill prohibits federal, state, or local governments from restricting coverage for abortion care available through private health insurance plans.

The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) would protect the right to access abortion care throughout the United States.

“Over the past several weeks, right-wing extremists have inched us closer and closer toward a society without the precedent of Roe v. Wade. Despite the Biden administration’s best efforts and legal challenges in several states, we cannot protect abortion access without federal protections like those in WHPA,” says Sonja Spoo, director of reproductive rights campaigns at UltraViolet.

“Enactment of the Women’s Health Protection Act is absolutely essential to the health, autonomy, and fundamental rights and dignity of America’s moms. Most women who choose abortion are moms, and we all have the right to make that intensely personal [decision] without intrusion from government,” says Ruth Martin, senior vice president of MomsRising.

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