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WASHINGTON, D.C. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) Senators Kaine and Warner have introduced a bill to protect access to reproductive healthcare.
The Women’s Health Protection Act guarantees the right to access an abortion and the right of an abortion provider to deliver these services. The Act is for those who want an abortion to be free from medical restrictions that may interfere with a patient’s individual choice or the provider-patient relationship.
This process began on the third anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Senators Kaine and Warner, members of the Health, Education and Labor (HELP) Committee, joined Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Patty Murray (D-WA) in introducing this legislation.
Virginia is the last southern state where abortion is still legal. The state has seen an increase in demand for abortions after other states passed laws restricting access to abortion.
Warner says the bill they are introducing would once and for all restore the constitutional right to abortion, therefore, permanently making it safe and legal nationwide.
Since the Supreme Court decision, 19 states have banned abortion or restricted women from accessing the procedure which leaves one in three women in America without access to legal abortion care.
Kaine says he is proud to be joining his colleagues by introducing this legislation to protect access to abortion nationwide and restore Americans’ freedom to make their own health care decisions.
In addition, Kaine has also introduced the Reproductive Freedom for All Act to ensure abortion rights and contraception access.