The Pro-Choice Caucus in the House of Representatives celebrated the introduction of H.R. 12, the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2023. The bill, publicly endorsed by Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), would “create a statutory right for health care providers to provide abortion care” and would prevent states from “enacting arbitrary and medically unnecessary barriers to care.”
In short, it would enshrine Roe v. Wade into law at a federal level once again.
Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick released a statement regarding her support of the bill.
Although SCOTUS overturned #RoevWade, the fight for reproductive freedoms lives on. The @DemWomenCaucus & @ProChoiceCaucus are fighting back. I was proud to sign a discharge petition to force a floor vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act and restore abortion access.
— Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (@CongresswomanSC) June 23, 2023
“Although SCOTUS overturned #RoevWade, the fight for reproductive freedoms lives on. The Democratic Women's Caucus & Pro Choice Caucus are fighting back. I was proud to sign a discharge petition to force a floor vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act and restore abortion access,” said Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick.
One of the bill's main sponsors is a member of “The Squad,” Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). She is also the Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’s Abortion Rights and Access Task Force.
“As we navigate a post-Dobbs world and continue to face relentless attacks on our freedom and bodily autonomy, let me make it plain: abortion care is routine medical care and a fundamental human right,” said Rep. Pressley.
“The Women’s Health Protection Act is necessary legislation that meets the moment, and I am grateful to my colleagues and our advocates for their partnership on this bill to restore, protect, and expand abortion care in America. We must act with urgency, abolish the Jim Crow filibuster, and enshrine the right to abortion care into federal law, once and for all,” Rep. Pressley stated.
As the nation recognizes the first anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson case that returned the abortion issue to the states, Republicans such as Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) have attacked former President Donald Trump for his less aggressive stance, even calling Florida’s six-week ban “too harsh.”
“If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people don't even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh,” stated Trump.
DeSantis responded, stating, “Protecting an unborn child when there’s the detectable heartbeat is something that almost probably 99% of pro-lifers support.”
The abortion issue appears to be divisive between both sides of the aisle, and within the aisles as well.
