SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
reproductive freedom for all
Abortion Rights Advocates Celebrate Walz Choice and Look Beyond Roe Restoration
"The stakes of this election could not be higher, the contrast between the two tickets could not be clearer, and the state of sexual and reproductive healthcare in this country could not be more dire," an expert said.
Aug 06, 2024
Two rights groups on Tuesday celebrated Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' choice of running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, calling it the most pro-reproductive freedom ticket in history, while two other groups called on Democratic leaders to act boldly to establish new federal abortion protections.
Both Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) and Reproductive Freedom for All (RFA) applauded Walz's pro-choice record and called him a "champion" of reproductive rights.
The ACLU and Physicians for Reproductive Health (PRH) called for bolder action to secure abortion rights, with the ACLU pushing for a number of federal reforms, and PRH urging more fundamental protections for abortion and gender-affirming care that go beyond the standards once set by Roe v. Wade.
"Unfortunately, Roe v. Wade was never enough to ensure our communities obtained the care they needed," Dr. Jamila Perritt, PRH's president, said in a statement. "It was, in fact, barely a starting point."
BREAKING: This morning, we sent a letter to the White House asking for immediate action to center the needs of people who have abortions and gender affirming care. It was signed by 430 of our closest friends. Read the letter here: https://t.co/luoyTPaehv
— Physicians for Reproductive Health (@prhdocs) August 6, 2024
Walz, who served in U.S. Congress for 12 years before becoming governor of Minnesota at the start of 2019, has a sterling pro-choice record on abortion. He earned a consistent 100% on RFA's congressional report card during his time as a congressman, and signed a pair of key state bills into law as governor.
The first, signed in January 2023, strengthened and codified abortion protections, even as neighboring states restricted abortion rights, turning Minnesota into "the Midwest's abortion access center." The second, passed three months later, sought to shield people who seek or provide abortions or gender-affirming care from legal action by conservative states.
Both bills narrowly passed the Minnesota state Legislature, where Democrats have had a slight majority since the 2022 election and used it to push through a wide array of progressive laws. These included expanded funding for birth control access, family planning services, and Medicaid reimbursements.
Walz was by Harris' side when she became the first vice president to visit an abortion provider in March, at a Planned Parenthood in St. Paul. Reproductive rights advocates generally regard Harris as stronger on the issue than President Joe Biden, who is Catholic and has struggled to say the word "abortion" publicly, though his administration has pushed pro-choice policy.
"The Biden-Harris administration did more for reproductive freedom than any other, and a Harris-Walz administration is poised to build on that legacy," RFA president Mini Timmaraju said in a statement.
Biden and Harris have emphasized the need to restore Roe, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 1973 that established a federal right to abortion up to roughly 24 weeks for the next five decades, before it was reversed by the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling.
However, PRH on Tuesday sent Biden and Harris an open letter, signed by 430 healthcare providers, that called for them to be bolder, citing the limitations of the Roe framework:
While Roe provided a constitutional right to abortion, it never ensured access to that right for all those who needed it. The promise of Roe, the legal right to abortion care, was never fulfilled. This is especially true for communities facing the most barriers to care. When abortion care is treated as anything other than basic, essential healthcare and is so willingly stigmatized by supporters and nonsupporters alike, ensuring true access to our communities is not possible. We urge the administration and lawmakers across the country to broaden their efforts, moving beyond Roe's framework, and talk about the future our patients deserve boldly and bravely. We ask you to champion policy solutions that are not premised on returning us to the narrow protections Roe created.
The ACLU warned of the erosion of reproductive rights following Dobbs, which left states to determine abortion policy; 14 Republican-controlled states have since banned abortion altogether, while eight others have passed bans on abortions at 18 weeks of gestation or less. In a statement, the nonprofit human rights group praised Harris for her pledge to restore reproductive freedom and vowed to hold her accountable.
The ACLU's "roadmap" for Harris includes overturning the Hyde amendment, which restricts Medicaid coverage for abortion and "has forced 1 in 4 low-income women seeking an abortions to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term," the ACLU said. The group also calls for increased federal funding for Title X, which helps low-income people secure healthcare services, a federal push to ensure that all hospitals that receive Medicare funding provide emergency stabilizing treatment, including abortion.
Amnesty International on Monday issued a detailed report on the negative impact of the abortion bans and restrictions in Republican-led states, saying they "cause extensive harm" and "violate human rights."
Reproductive rights advocates warn that much worse is to come if Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump wins back the White House in November. Project 2025, a right-wing blueprint written by people affiliated with Trump, proposes "mobilizing an array of government agencies to curb access to abortion," The Guardianreported Monday.
PPAF implicitly nodded to the threat Republicans pose in making the case for the Democratic ticket in its statement on Tuesday.
"The stakes of this election could not be higher, the contrast between the two tickets could not be clearer, and the state of sexual and reproductive healthcare in this country could not be more dire," said Alexis McGill Johnson, PPAF's president. "Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the only people we can trust to ensure that everyone has the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Senate Republicans Block Yet Another Reproductive Rights Bill
"The American people want to know where their senators stand on freedom of choice," said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Jul 10, 2024
In another display of GOP lawmakers' opposition to reproductive rights, U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act.
Introduced last month by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the bill states that "the protections enshrined in Roe v. Wade... should be restored and built upon, moving towards a future where there is reproductive freedom for all."
The bill also acknowledges Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court's June 2022 ruling that reversedRoe, the decision that had affirmed the right to abortion until viability since 1973. Dobbs set off a fresh wave of efforts to impose devastating new restrictions on reproductive healthcare.
"If Republicans are going to force women to stay pregnant, we are going to force them to be honest with the American people about their extreme position. And, by the way, Democrats are going to keep fighting to restore the rights the American people have been so clear that they want back," Murray said on the Senate floor before Wednesday's vote.
The vote was 49-44, mostly along party lines. Seven senators were not present, and Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) were the only Republicans who supported holding a final vote on the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) changed his vote to "no" so he can bring the bill back up at a later date.
Wednesday's vote followed Republicans blocking bills on in vitro fertilization (IVF) and contraception last month. It also came after the GOP blocked three bills on Tuesday, which aimed to affirm the freedom to cross state lines for abortion care, protect doctors providing legal abortions from being punished for treating patients from other states, and support training for more providers.
"We know where the American people stand on the freedom of choice: Over 80% of Americans—including two-thirds of Republicans—agree that healthcare decisions including abortion should be between a woman and her doctor," Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
"But Americans are rightfully worried that reproductive rights are becoming extinct in this country. They see what's happening at the Supreme Court. They see the attacks on women's rights in states like Texas and Florida and Alabama and Idaho and beyond," he continued. "The American people want to know where their senators stand on freedom of choice."
The Senate majority leader also called out former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee to face embattled Democratic President Joe Biden in November.
While Trump's recognition that rolling back reproductive freedom is unpopular is reportedly what led to changes in the Republican Party's 2024 policy platform, campaigners and legal experts have warned this week that the final language is still incredibly threatening and the GOP can't be trusted on this issue.
The White House said Tuesday that "the administration strongly supports Senate passage" of the bill and "will continue to work with Congress to defend reproductive freedom once and for all."
The statement also called out the GOP, saying that "Republican elected officials' extreme agenda is putting women's health and lives at risk and unleashing chaos and cruelty across America."
After the vote Wednesday, Reproductive Freedom for All president and CEO Mini Timmaraju said in a statement that "we're grateful to Sen. Murray, Leader Schumer, and our champions in the Senate for continuing to hold Republicans' feet to the fire for the damage they've done to reproductive freedom."
She added that "the GOP must be held accountable for the abortion bans they've helped orchestrate and refuse to back down from—and this November, they will be voted out of office."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Abortion Rights Defenders Say Don't Be Fooled by GOP Platform Change
"Voters don't want abortion bans," said one advocate. "Republicans know it and this plan shows just how desperate Trump and the MAGA GOP are to strip away our reproductive freedom."
Jul 08, 2024
Reproductive freedom advocates on Monday warned against trusting the Republican Party, whose 2024 policy platform now "reads like the transcript" from one of former U.S. President Donald Trump's rallies—including its section on abortion.
"Republicans want to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban," declared U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). "The far-right extremists lied to the American people about respecting the precedent of Roe v. Wade. They are lying once again."
Trump, a frequent liar, attacked reproductive freedom as president and has bragged about appointing half of the U.S. Supreme Court justices who reversedRoe with a Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling that paved the way for strict bans in over a dozen states.
However, Trump has also tried to distance himself from some extreme and devastating policies, recognizing them as politically risky as he runs for the White House against embattled President Joe Biden, a Democrat campaigning on his support for reproductive rights.
The GOP abortion policy appears on the second-to-last page of the 2024 platform, released just a week before the Republican National Convention is set to kick off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It states:
Republicans Will Protect and Defend a Vote of the People, from within the States, on the Issue of Life
We proudly stand for families and Life. We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights. After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).
Trump says he supports states making abortion policies. The Associated Pressreported that the platform reflects his position, "omitting the explicit basis for a national ban for the first time in 40 years."
According toPolitico, "Trump didn't just edit the platform language, but wrote some parts of the 15-page draft himself."
The Republican National Committee's (RNC) platform panel approved the document in an 84-18 vote, notedThe New York Times, which added that Trump "was especially focused on softening the language on abortion."
In response to the Times reporting, journalist Paul Blest asserted on social media that "this is such a ridiculous framing on this story about the Republican platform."
"The platform didn't soften the abortion [stance], it just didn't mention it, and the people whose job is to advocate for abortion bans are totally fine with it," Blest continued. "Why do you think that would be?"
"If there's a landslide thanks to Biden's hubris you can bet the GOP will try to jam through a 15-week ban, then a 12-week ban, then a six-week ban, then a full ban with exceptions, then a full ban with no exceptions," he warned. "Whether the platform says it or not."
University of Texas law professor Liz Sepper explained what is included in the platform, saying: "Y'all, the RNC draft platform does not 'moderate' on abortion. It commits to constitutional personhood for fetuses. It takes the view that it is not a mere statute but rather the Constitution that bans abortion nationwide."
"Allow me to anti-abortion translate: The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects life of fetuses," Sepper said. "With Roe, states could not so legislate. After Dobbs, they can legislate this view. And the 14th Amendment prohibits denial of fetal life IN ALL STATES."
"This is commitment to full constitutional personhood for blastocysts/embryos/fetuses," she continued. "That is, the RNC is committing to ensure embryos have rights equal to a full human person. There is no universe where embryos have constitutional rights and IVF can still happen on any scale."
Addressing the platform in an email, Biden's campaign said that "in a desperate attempt to conceal his extreme stance on abortion, Donald Trump directed the RNC to hide the ball on their unpopular plans to ban abortion nationwide—with or without Congress."
"Trump has endorsed every extreme abortion ban, including those with no exceptions for rape or incest, and has even said states should have the right to punish and prosecute women who have an abortion and monitor their pregnancies," the campaign added. "No one is buying Trump's sudden backtracking, including his fellow abortion banners."
The Biden campaign and other critics highlighted praise for the platform from leaders of anti-choice groups including Americans United for Life, Students for Life of America, and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
Meanwhile, Mini Timmaraju, who leads Reproductive Freedom for All, said that "the GOP wants to ban abortion nationwide—and their platform shows that they'll try to use the 14th Amendment to do it."
"Voters don't want abortion bans," she emphasized. "Republicans know it and this plan shows just how desperate Trump and the MAGA GOP are to strip away our reproductive freedom."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular