Members of Congress reintroduced H.R.12, the Women’s Health Protection Act, in response to the Supreme Court decision that allowed a Texas law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detectable, which is generally six weeks after gestation, to take effect.

This bill prohibits governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, abortion services.

Specifically, governments may not limit a provider's ability to

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

Furthermore, governments may not require a provider to

• perform unnecessary medical procedures,
• provide medically inaccurate information,
• comply with credentialing or other conditions that do not apply to providers whose services are medically comparable to abortions, or
• carry out all services connected to an abortion.

In addition, governments may not (1) require patients to make medically unnecessary in-person visits before receiving abortion services or disclose their reasons for obtaining such services, or (2) prohibit abortion services before fetal viability or after fetal viability when a provider determines the pregnancy risks the patient's life or health.

The bill also prohibits other governmental measures that are similar to the bill's specified restrictions or that otherwise single out and impede access to abortion services, unless a government demonstrates that the measure significantly advances the safety of abortion services or health of patients and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means.

The Department of Justice, individuals, or providers may bring a lawsuit to enforce this bill, and states are not immune from suits for violations.

The bill applies to restrictions imposed both prior and subsequent to the bill's enactment.

For

Three years ago today, the Dobbs ruling overturned nearly 50 years of precedent under Roe v. Wade, stripping millions of Americans of their constitutional right to abortion. Since then, draconian abortion bans have taken hold in 19 states across the country, endangering lives and giving politicians unprecedented power over personal medical decisions. WHPA would enshrine the protections of Roe into federal law by creating a federal right to access abortion carefree from medically unnecessary state-based restrictions. Once again, WHPA has been filed as H.R. 12, reflecting its status as one of House Democrats’ top legislative priorities. WHPA has already passed the House twice when Democrats held the majority and remains the most widely supported abortion rights bill in Congressional history.

“We cannot have true equality in America without reproductive freedom. Three years after the Supreme Court ripped away the right to bodily autonomy, millions of women are living in a country of forced birth bleeding in ER parking lots, crossing state lines for care, or being kept on life support against their families’ wishes,” said Rep. Chu. “That’s why I’m proud to reintroduce the Women’s Health Protection Act, because no one should have more rights in California than in Texas. We will not stop fighting until we achieve full reproductive justice.”

Against

Those against argue life starts at conception and should be protected at all costs. They point out that it is illegal to murder a person outside of the womb, so it should be illegal to murder one inside the womb as well. Opponents feel that it is the job of the government to protect the most vulnerable in society, and that includes the unborn. They say that abortions can cause permanent physical and mental damage to the mother that she will have to carry through the rest of her life.

This legislation endangers women and their unborn children, would expand taxpayer funding of abortion, and would no longer require that a woman be given information about the development of her unborn child.

Should Congress pass H.R.12, to guarantee health-care providers have the right to provide abortion services without limitations?