Congresswoman: “On the Second Anniversary of this Dark Day in Our Nation’s History, We Must Recommit Ourselves to Codifying Roe v. Wade and Resisting All Attempts to Turn Back the Clock on Women’s Rights”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today released the following statement ahead of Monday, June 24, 2024 — two years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade to protect a woman’s right to privacy to make decisions about her own healthcare and her own future. But two years ago on Monday, the Court overturned this landmark decision, undermining decades of progress and jeopardizing the health and well-being of millions of American women and their families.

“Since then, we have seen the devastating consequences of this decision. In many states, women now face significant barriers to accessing essential healthcare services. They are forced to travel long distances, endure financial hardship, navigate restrictions, and risk criminalization for simply seeking care that could save their fertility or save their lives.

“Two years ago, women knew that these would be the consequences — and they knew the Dobbs decision threatened more than just the right to an abortion. They were right. Today, extreme politicians and judges are working overtime to strip away more rights that hinge on the fundamental right to privacy — like the right to contraception and the right to use family planning tools like IVF.

“On the second anniversary of this dark day in our nation’s history, we must recommit ourselves to codifying Roe v. Wade and resisting all attempts to turn back the clock on women’s rights. As lawmakers, we must protect the right to choose — and all the fundamental freedoms that we hold dear. We owe it to the generations before us who fought tirelessly for these rights, and we owe it to the generations to come.”

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In June 2023, Spanberger joined an effort — known as a “discharge petition” — to force a U.S. House floor vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act. This legislation would codify the protections previously granted under Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Earlier that year, Spanberger helped reintroduce the Women’s Health Protection Act.

BACKGROUND

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Spanberger has worked to protect and retore the rights undermined by Dobbs, including by:

• Working to codify Roe v. Wade. Spanberger first cosponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act in 2021 and has voted twice to pass the legislation. Specifically, this bill would create a statutory right for providers to provide and patients to receive an abortion — without facing medically unnecessary restrictions.

• Protecting women seeking reproductive healthcare across state lines. In the immediate wake of the Dobbs decision, Spanberger cosponsored the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act — legislation to protect American women from being criminalized for interstate travel to seek abortions.

• Increasing facility capacity in states where abortion remains legal. In January 2024, Spanberger helped introduce legislation to increase hospital and clinic capacity to provide abortion services and other sexual and reproductive care in states where abortion is still legal.

• Defending access to contraception. Spanberger also cosponsored the Right to Contraception Act in July 2022 after Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurrence in Dobbs explicitly called for the reconsideration of the right to contraception. The legislation would codify the right for Americans to access and use birth control into federal law. Spanberger helped lead the bill’s reintroduction in the U.S. House in June 2023.

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