“The bill introduced does not address the abortion access crisis.”

For Immediate Release: August 2, 2022
NAPAWF Contact: media@napawf.org

WASHINGTON – A group of 15 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations, including ACLU, Catholics for Choice, Center for Reproductive Rights, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, National Council Of Jewish Women, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Power to Decide, and URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity responded to the introduction of a new bill from Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): 

“The public health crisis is here. Immediately after the Supreme Court’s disastrous ruling, multiple states moved to ban abortion and more will follow suit. Millions of people now live in a state where they no longer possess the fundamental right to decide what they can do with their bodies and their lives. For Texans, it has been nearly a year. We know these abortion bans and the countless other medically unnecessary restrictions states have passed most harm people who already face the greatest barriers to care due to systemic racism and discrimination: people with low incomes, Black, Latina/x, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Indigenous people, the LGBTQ+ community, young people, people with disabilities, and those living in rural communities.

“The crisis today demands legislative solutions that make abortion truly accessible. We are looking to the future and the bills that get us there–bills that protect our liberty, and strike down the political interference that denies us access to abortion and treats us as less than.  

“Regrettably, the bill introduced does not address the abortion access crisis.

“This bill claims to ‘codify’ Roe v. Wade but fails to do so. In fact, it does not expressly prohibit pre-viability abortion bans, leaving states able to continue to pass abortion bans that are denying people access to essential health care across the country. This bill has been written for a world that does not exist and would provide little solace in the nightmare we are living.

“Our organizations, which are comprised of sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice leaders, including faith-based leaders, are willing to work with anyone to find a path to passing legislation to restore the right to access abortion. Given the archaic rules of the U.S. Senate, and the fact that 47 Senate Republicans called for overturning Roe, we do not see a pathway to passing the legislation that was introduced in the Senate under the current Senate rules, nor have we heard a commitment from the bill sponsors to support changing the rules to pass this legislation.

“Our organizations continue to strongly support the Women’s Health Protection Act, which the Senate has twice voted on to protect the right to abortion in this country.”

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Media Contacts

ACLU: Gillian Branstetter, media@aclu.org
Catholics for Choice: John Becker; jbecker@catholicsforchoice.org; 202-203-0931
Center for Reproductive Rights: center.press@reprorights.org
In Our Own Voice: Racine@blackrj.org
NARAL Pro-Choice America: media@prochoiceamerica.org
NAPAWF: media@napawf.org
NCJW: Jake Green, jgreen@ncjw.org; 216-246-2333
Latina Institute: Yamila Ruiz; media@latinainstitute.org; 646-455-7907
NFPRHA: Audrey Sandusky; asandusky@nfprha.org; 937-620-1082
National Partnership for Women & Families: Llenda Jackson-Leslie ljackson-leslie@nationalpartnership.org 202-238-4847
NWLC: ofeil@nwlc.org
Physicians for Reproductive Health: krhodes@prh.org
PPFA: media.office@ppfa.org; 212-261-4433
Power to Decide: Paloma Zuleta, mediarelations@powertodecide.org, 202-812-4477
URGE: Kwentoria A. Williams, kwwilliams@urge.org