Passing the Women’s Health Protection Act Would be Magical

It’s no secret that state legislatures across the country are working tirelessly to restrict access to abortion care. From forcing patients to travel to neighboring states to stigma-based counseling sessions, accessing an abortion comes with countless hurdles. Jackie Blank, Federal Legislative Strategist and Campaign Manager for the Women’s Health Protection Act Campaign at the Center for Reproductive Rights, talks to us about how the Women’s Health Protection Act will ensure reproductive choice, bodily autonomy, and access to care in a time where abortion faces an unprecedented attack.

Abortion is legal in all 50 states, but in 2021 alone, 90 abortion restrictions have been passed in legislatures across the country. Coverage of abortion care also faces extreme restrictions; the Hyde amendment prevents Medicaid, Medicare, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients from covering abortion at the federal level (Some states, 16, have a policy that directs Medicaid to cover all medically necessary abortions). These restrictions have created a state-based patchwork of care, forcing many to travel between states, traveling long distances within their own states, or being blocked from accessing abortion care altogether. This has disproportionate impact on communities that have historically been denied access to care, including Black communities, indigenous communities, communities of color, women, low-income people, those with disabilities, those living rurally, and LGBTQ+ folks. 

This year Texas passed a law that not only bans abortion at 6 weeks, but criminalizes providers, patients, and anyone who “aids and abets” someone in accessing abortion care-- anyone from family members to Uber drivers can face legal prosecution. Closed clinics, inability to confide in friends and family, and threat of criminalization will no doubt create a ‘chilling effect’ in Texas, even further restricting the ability to access an abortion.

The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) would create a federal safeguard against laws (like Texas’ S.B. 8) that are meant to restrict access. By preventing the singling out of abortion care as opposed to other types of healthcare, WHPA would prevent impeding of access. WHPA specifically enumerates the types of bans that would violate the right to abortion care, including court rulings. In fact, WHPA would protect access to care even if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned. If WHPA were to be passed, patients wouldn’t have to be subject to limitations like stigma-based counseling, multiple trips to a provider, or expensive childcare costs. 

Links from this episode

Center for Reproductive Rights on Twitter
Center for Reproductive Rights on Facebook
More Information on the Women’s Health Protection Act
S.1645 - Women’s Health Protection Act of 2019

Transcript

Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back, a podcast where we explore all things reproductive health, rights and justice. I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and I'll be helping you stay informed around issues like birth control, abortion, sex education and LGBTQ issues and much, much more-- giving you the tools you need to take action and fight back. Okay, let's dive in.

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Jennie: Welcome to this week's episode of rePROs Fight Back. I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and my pronouns are she/her. So this week y'all, the big news for me is that the Bucks won the NBA title. So, you know, a lot of, you know, I'm from Wisconsin, but I actually grew up on the Wisconsin/Illinois border. Like you can literally see Illinois from my parents' house. So like I’m really close to my dad's side of the family. Like they grew up in Chicago, he was from Chicago. So I had a lot of split sports allegiances, uh, when I grew up. So you'll definitely hear, like, when I talk about sports, like I grew up a Cubs fan, like that was who I watched with my family, because that was the grandparents I watched sports with -- Cubs fans. But I also still, you know, had a good soft spot in my heart for, you know, the Milwaukee Brewers. So the same held true for basketball. I never really was a huge NBA person. We didn't really have, neither of my parents were. And so not a lot of my family was so, you know, when I did watch NBA, it was the Jordan years. So obviously I was a bull’s fan then, but always same like, you know, always soft spot in my heart from Milwaukee. Cause it's the hometown team, right? It's my Wisconsin team. So, you know, while not following NBA at all anymore, I really always now keep an eye on the Bucks and the Washington Wizards because now they are my hometown team since I live in DC. So it's been so exciting to watch the Bucks really rise the last several years to becoming this amazing team and all of the players. It's just so exciting to see their joy and seeing all of this hard work path and to see all of the joy for people back home who are just so ecstatic. I mean, it's been 50 years since the Bucks won the NBA title. So it was pretty exciting. And, you know, as somebody who, again, grew up a Cubs fan, I can appreciate the long drought and the joy of the release of the big win after that long drought. So it was really exciting and I just was super stoked for everybody back home. So fear of the deer. Also exciting is starting to see some more friends now that I'm seeing more people and being able to share baked goods with them. You know, as I've talked about here and if you follow my baking on Instagram, you have seen that I bake a lot, particularly breads and things like that. It's been nice to have that because that was, you know, what I would make for breakfast for the week. And so it's been really fun to get to share all of the things that people have been hearing about with my friends. And that is bringing me joy. I think that is going to be the topic of this week's episode, right? Like joy, seeing the Bucks win and seeing all the joy back home, it just made me so happy and being able to share all my baked goods that I bake with love is bringing me joy. I think I'm just in a happy place right now. And that's good because this week we're going to talk about something positive, which again, joy. So on this week's episode, we are going to talk about the Women's Health Protection Act and abortion access. And I honestly, I could not think of a better person to talk to me about that than Jackie Blank at the Center for Reproductive Rights. So with that, I think I will turn it to my interview with Jackie.

Jennie: Hi Jackie. Thank you so much for being here today.

Jackie: Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Jennie: So before we get started, do you want to take a quick second and introduce yourself and include your pronouns?

Jackie: Of course, my name is Jackie Blank. I use she/her pronouns and I work at the Center for Reproductive Rights as a Federal Legislative Strategist and Campaign Manager for the Women's Health Protection Act campaign.

Jennie: Awesome. Well, I'm very excited to have you here today to talk about the Women's Health Protection Act. But I guess before we get there, maybe we should do a little background and some scene setting. So what does the status of abortion look like right now in the country?

Jackie: It's not great. So abortion is legal in all 50 states, right? I think that that's an important place to start. One of the side effects of lots of restrictions being passed is that it creates a lot of confusion and of course, bans and restrictions are being passed all the time. So first I just want to lay out abortion is legal in all 50 states. I think that's an important place to start, but beyond that, there are hundreds of abortion restrictions on the books. 90 were passed just this year --were enacted this year-- and we're seeing trends of even worse and worse restrictions. And what that means on the ground is that there are five states that only have one abortion clinic. It means that there are vast abortion, what we call “deserts” throughout the Midwest and the south, where there are very few abortion clinics. And it means that when people are trying to get care, they face a ton of barriers. And those are, you know, they have to get biased counseling from a provider, which is, you know, they're being told, lies, things that we know are not correct. And it's just because state legislators are trying to scare people out of having abortions. And they have to face waiting periods. Right? What other type of medicine really do you have where you're being told by the government that your decisions need to be mulled over a little bit, right?

Jennie: Like you need your time. Think about it.

Jackie: Like how patronizing and paternalistic is that? And there are, you know, restrictions on coverage of abortion care. People who are enrolled in federal and some state Medicaid programs do not have their abortions covered. And that also applies to folks in Medicare, folks enrolled in CHIP, the Child Health Insurance Program, the Peace Corps, federal employees who get their health insurance… And so there are a lot of people who just will have to pay out of pocket for a procedure. And there are any other number of restrictions: your provider has to ask you why you're getting a procedure, which shouldn't really matter why you want it. If, if you want medicine and it's, you know, appropriate for your circumstances and your health, like you should be able to get that without being interrogated and all the medically appropriate procedures to do that should be available to you regardless of the opinions of the state legislators or you live. And so what this looks like across the country is that the right to access abortion is actually manifested differently in different states, which is not how constitutional rights should work. It is not how fundamental rights should work. And it creates this really confusing patchwork where people are traveling between states, traveling really long distances within their own states. And a lot of people are really just being sort of blocked from accessing abortion care altogether. And at the end of the day, this has a disproportionate impact on communities that have historically faced barriers to healthcare due to white supremacy and systemic racism. And this includes Black, indigenous, and people of color. It includes women. It includes people working to make ends meet. It includes LGBTQ people, people with disabilities and more people in rural areas. And so people who need healthcare are being pushed out of the system altogether. And when they are able to access care for a number of them, it creates a lot of challenges. They have to drive long distances, they have to get childcare, they have to pay for their transportation. Um, they have to take time off of work. And if they don't have labor protections, they could lose their jobs or lose income. And no one should have to choose between getting healthcare and being able to care for their families and, you know, keep their jobs. And it's just really creating this, um, troubling situation on the ground. And this is all well, Roe is still on the books, right? We still have a fundamental right to access abortion. And yet anti-abortion lawmakers have found ways to chip away at that access so that the right is intact, but the ability to access it or realize it is very different depending on where you live.

Jennie: Yeah. And I think, you know, you pointed out people having to take time off work and travel long distances. And if you were in a state that has a waiting period, you have to do that twice.

Jackie: Yes! Yeah. And that, you know, we talk about all of these restrictions and often, you know, you talk about them as they come up or as a new state introduces it. So you talk about it on its own, but they all interact together and create this really terrible framework of all these hoops you have to jump through to access basic healthcare. None of these restrictions live in a vacuum. So all of the stuff I just mentioned, imagine having all of that piled on top of each other, you know, when you're just trying to access health care that you have decided that you need, it's really unacceptable.

Jennie: Okay. So that's kind of what it looks like now. And you touched on already what's happened this year, because again, it's been a terrible year for abortion rights. There's been 90 new restrictions passed, but I feel like it's gotten just like… worse.

Jackie: I think so too. I agree with you…Yeah. So Texas passed a law that bans abortion at six weeks, which is clearly unconstitutional, but also it affects not just the providers and the patients, but anyone who is helping them access care. Right.? And so based on what I just mentioned, you know, people need transportation, people need help with childcare. People have to talk to their friends to get their guidance and share what they're feeling or talk to their clergy. And so this, you know, is, is criminalizing activity that people are doing to help their friends access care. And you know, they are facing liability and could be sued by people in the state of Texas, right? It's not just the state. If there's someone who does not support abortion care, they can sue a clinic. They can sue someone who helped their friend access abortion care. And as we've seen in Texas in the past, restrictions on bans mean that clinics close. We saw this after Texas passed a law a number of years ago that created these admitting privileges requirement. You know, the Center for Reproductive Rights took this case all the way to the Supreme Court. And one, this restriction was deemed to be unconstitutional, but in the meantime clinics closed-- almost half of the clinics in Texas closed. And so if there are not clinics to go to and you can't confide in your friends, you can, you know, ask for help with transportation. And also there is a six week ban. It's going to mean that it's going to have huge effects on people in Texas and it really chilling effect across the country. Jennie: Yeah, it's pretty horrifying. So I wish there was something we could do about it. So what's happening? What, what is going on to try to address this?

Jackie: This is my favorite topic and I, that's not a joke. I'm… Nora has heard me say that before. So there is a federal bill that will address abortion restrictions and bans by creating a federal safeguard against these laws that are meant to restrict access. So it's called the Women's Health Protection Act. The acronym is WHPA. I didn't, I didn't choose that, but that is, that is the acronym. So when I say WHPA going forward, that's the Women's Health Protection Act. It was originally introduced in 2013. It has been introduced in Congress, every Congress since then. So the bill was just re-introduced for the fifth time, just last month, it feels, it feels like just last month. Abd what the Women's Health Protection Act does is it creates a right for providers to provide abortion care free from medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion care from other types of healthcare and impede access. And it creates a corresponding right for their patients to access that care with the same conditions. And so if a state law is found to single out abortion and to impede access, and it is, you know, medically unnecessary, then providers have a right to provide care without that restriction on a ban. And patients have a right to receive that care without a restriction out of ban. So this is very closely related, I think, to the core holding of Roe right? Like you have a fundamental right to access abortion before viability where WHPA goes, you know, digs on a little bit deeper is that it specifically enumerates the types of bans and restrictions that would violate that. Right? And this is important because just a couple of years ago, again, the Center for Reproductive Rights went to the Supreme Court about an admitting privileges law, but this time it was about Louisiana and it shouldn't have to be that you are suing and having to go all the way to the Supreme Court for an identical restriction that the Supreme court has already struck down, right? What is unconstitutional in one state is unconstitutional in another state. And so by listing out these types of bans, it'll create a much clearer test and an additional tool by which to address restrictions and bans. And you know, something that I think is really important is that the bill explicitly acknowledges that viability can't be determined by the state or by a single factor, right, every pregnancy is different. And so you can't say that viability is at 15 weeks, which the state of Mississippi is trying to say right now, in a case that again, the Center is taking to the Supreme Court. You know, several states have tried to pass bans at a certain point in pregnancy. I mentioned Texas at six weeks, there are 12-week bans and 15 week bans and 18 week bans. And what the science shows us is that every pregnancy is different and healthcare professionals need to maintain the ability to make the best decisions for the patients in front of them, based on the specifics of that case.

Jackie: And based on their own medical knowledge that I will say is not shared by the legislators who are passing these laws. And then the second piece of WHPA by which I also think is really important is that, you know, we know that we can't foresee every type of restriction, right? The Texas restrictions that came in, we didn't see that coming, but what WHPA does, it has this sort of catch all section, which says if a bill is impeding access and it is medically unnecessary, then there is a way for courts to use a test to evaluate that type of restriction. So even if it's not listed specifically with us, it still can address other restrictions by evaluating it based on that test. And so what is this sort of more comprehensive tool to test certain abortion restrictions and super important, regardless of what happens to row, which is fundamental and was a historic decision to guarantee the right to access abortion? WHPA would still protect access even if Roe were to be overturned, this is a critical piece of the bill. So obviously we're pushing for WHPA to pass.

Jennie: I mean, that seems so important to, especially with basically Roe in front of the court this fall.

Jackie: Yeah. So I can talk a little bit about the case and why it is so important not to pass that by. And then I can sort of tell you where we are right now in the moment. So there is a case out of Mississippi about a ban on abortion at 15 weeks, clearly unconstitutional. There is no argument to be made that viability as a line is at 15 weeks, this is a violation of the law and the precedent that the courts have upheld. And also all of the district courts agree right, there is no differentiation between district courts, which is one of the reasons that the Supreme Court would take up a case if district courts disagree. That is not the case here, but the Supreme Court decided to take up the case, which is alarming in and of its own self, right? This shouldn't be a slam dunk, but now that we're there, it should still be a slam dunk. Right? That said the question before the court is Roe’s core holding because you can't allow the Mississippi law to go into effect without overturning Roe’s core holding. And so these are the stakes, right? This is the question before the court. And, you know, we've talked about how restrictions have been chipping away at people's access for decades. This is even one step bigger, right? Because even though that was happening, we were still able to use the Roe standard to push back on restrictions. But the Roe standard is the question before the court. And so it is even more imperative that Congress act to make sure that regardless of the outcome of the case, that WHPA has passed and knowing what we know about how states have been able to restrict access, even if they're on the books, they still need to pass with us. This is incredibly important. So that's a lot of the work that we've been doing over the last couple of years and also the last couple of months, which is exciting stuff.

Jennie: I'm sure you've gotten so many-- I just have to say I'm like so excited: 1) cause like WHPA is amazing, but 2) well, all of the leads and co-sponsors are amazing because they are, I live in DC, so I don't have like representation, but I'm from Wisconsin. So like Senator Baldwin is literally the first person I ever voted for to be when she was in the House of Representatives. So like I always… her as like my representative, even though she's totally not anymore, but so she's one of the leads. And so like always extra warm, special place in my heart to see her championing these issues. I love Senator Baldwin. And actually, before I even came to the Center, I participated in a WHPA lobby day and I was with the group from Wisconsin and I got to meet with her office, which is right by the Hill, like right behind the Supreme Court. And so I run into her every once in a while and I always have basically the same conversation it's so… she's so delightful.

Jackie: Yeah. The dream. She's so delightful. And so, yeah, so WHPA was re-introduced in the House and the Senate. And in the Senate, it is sponsored by Senator Baldwin of course, and also Senator Blumenthal from Connecticut. And in the house, it is Congresswoman Judy Chu from California is the main sponsor. And she is joined by Congresswoman Frankel from Florida. And there are two new, um, original co-sponsors in the House. And those are Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts and Congresswoman Escobar from Texas. So this is just, you know, I'm so excited that we have some new energy from some newer members. And of course, the former original lead on that list was then Congresswoman Marsha Fudge, who is now Secretary Fudge. So that is also incredibly exciting, but I am so grateful to have some new really energized voices on the bill. I also think, you know, so WHPA was re-introduced a little bit over a month ago and a big focus of the re-introduction this year was to make sure that the bill really reflected a reproductive justice framework, which is that we can't just think about right to the abstract. And the last couple of decades have really demonstrated that to us. We really need to think about how these bills are affecting people on the ground and what they mean for people's ability to make decisions about their own families to have bodily autonomy. And so we wanted to make sure that we were centering the people that are most effected by these restrictions, and that includes people of color, especially Black women, who are most effected. It includes LGBTQ people and it's not, you know, not just women who are people who get pregnant and, you know, get abortions, which is really important. And we also wanted to acknowledge where abortion restrictions sort of fit in, in this history of state control of people's bodies. And so there are explicit references to white supremacy and sort of ties being made between, you know, experimentation on women in Puerto Rico with, uh, birth control, with slavery, all sort of the way through drawing this line of how we've gotten here today, which I am really proud and excited that that language got into the bill. And it was only possible through partnership with a ton of organizations across a number of different sort of pieces of the repro world. It's always so wonderful to see all of this coming together and, you know, seeing that that's becoming the norm now for the, the groups, but like to get it in the congressional bill is like the next level, which is so exciting. It's so exciting. And I think, you know, the advocates are usually ahead of the lawmakers and thinking about how to evolve our language and where the movement should be going. You know, this is how the movement has been talking for a long time and certainly how reproductive justice organizations have been talking even longer. And I'm really glad that this language is starting to sort of permeate the legislative process, which is great. And the bill was introduced with record support in both chambers. Currently there are 48 supporters in the Senate and 187 in the House and those numbers are going to keep going up. And we already had a hearing on the bill again, after the bills were introduced and it was in the Senate, which is so exciting. It was amazing. It was my dream hearing. And I was sitting, I was alternating between like cackling and also just sobbing.

Jennie: I was just so excited about the direction of the testimony before members of Congress. And I was also sort of [inaudible] at the perspectives of the constitution from the minority side of the, yeah. It's always interesting to see how that plays out.

Jackie: Yes, it's always fascinating.

Jennie: Okay. So amazing bill would do great things, but what would it mean for people on the ground if it were a pass? Like what would it mean to people's lives?

Jackie: I think it would have huge impacts on people's lives. And I want to be clear like that doesn't solve every problem, right? The coverage issue that I talked about…people not having coverage under their health insurance plans is a huge problem because if there’s an abortion clinic in your neighborhood, but you can't afford the procedure, that's not access. Right? And so I want to acknowledge that there are other legislative solutions to abortion access and an important piece of that is eliminating the Hyde amendment-- and very excitingly the House introduced bills free from Hyde. I think for the first time since the Hyde amendment was introduced, which is amazing and absolutely a testament to the hard work that All Above All has been doing on this over the last few years. And I also think that this is an acknowledgement that like we're bringing the Hill along with us, right? They're starting to think about this from a justice perspective and do away with some of the old stigmatizing language. But if WHPA were passed, it would mean that patients wouldn't have to deal with the shameful counseling that they receive. And they wouldn't have to deal with multiple trip requirements as if they have to take extra time to think about their procedures. It would mean that any trips that are long distance, they wouldn't have to make multiple times. So it would mean that childcare costs would go down and people missing work would go down and it would mean a lot of security for clinics who, you know, clinics need to stay open in order for people to access care. And the current environment for restriction after restriction has created a really hostile environment for clinics to have to try to navigate. And they should be able to provide care without having to think about whether or not they're going to get sued by the state for something that has nothing to do with their patient's health. So it would be magical, I think is the word.

Jennie: I just… we've been in this defensive position for so long and the last four years have just been like exhausting; that isn't even the right word. Like they've just, they've been rough. So like this year and seeing Hyde coming out of appropriations, seeing Helms, which is the global side, coming out of appropriations, seeing the momentum on WHPA like, it's just a really exciting time. And yes, we talked about it being like a record year for abortion restrictions. So still terrible things are happening, but like you're seeing it countered.

Jackie: And there's still a lot of excitement with that. And the fact that we're in this for the long haul, right? This is the fifth time that the bill was introduced and every Congress, it has gotten further and further. So, there was a Senate hearing back in 2014, the Senate co-sponsor numbers were not nearly where they are right now. The bill has absolutely gained in popularity and support in the Senate. There was a hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Committee last Congress, which I think was one of the first ways we started to demonstrate some of this new language that we're hoping to use around WHPA. And now that the Senate has had a hearing and that the stakes in the case are so high, I think there's a lot of appetite on the Hill and in the administration to start thinking about, you know, moving beyond just rhetoric about, we need to protect access. We need to quote unquote codify Roe in to taking the actions necessary, to actually make sure that people can access care beyond just having the right.

Jennie: Yeah.

Jackie: And then with the second part, like the push around Hyde and Helms is like the second part of the statement you often hear, which is like, we need to codify Roe. Roe is not enough, like so many people already couldn't access services because of what you talked about, right? Like if you can't afford them that you can't access it. And so all of this together creates a really hopeful picture, right? And not just codified the language of Roe, like codify its promise. Right? I think the intention behind the decision was not just to give a right, but to make sure people could exercise that right. And the way that we have a works by having a much clearer test means that it'll be easier to fight back on these restrictions in court. And it should mean it should have real effects for people on the ground.

Jennie: Okay. So we always like to end with action. So what action can our audience take right now?

Jackie: Yes. There's something very important that people can do. What we really need is for the House to vote on the Women's Health Protection Act, right? It is imperative that the House acknowledged the stakes at acknowledged that there is a role for Congress to take and to take that next step. And so the bill has been introduced, there are ongoing conversations on the Hill about how important it is to protect abortion access. And now we need them to sort of put their money where their mouth is, I would say. And so we are calling for a vote on WHPA, you know, anyone who is already at co-sponsor, we're asking them to call for a vote. Anyone who is not a co-sponsor, we're asking them to co-sponsor. And so if folks would like to get involved with that effort, there are a couple of ways to do that. The campaign website is called actforwomen.org. So if you go to that website, there is a take action tool to reach out to your representatives, ask them to push for WHPA publicly, ask them to co-sponsor with, but if they haven't already, and this is going to really make a difference to whether or not we can get a vote in this Congress. And on top of that, I think, you know, just raising the narrative and awareness about the bill as a, one of the pieces of a solution to the access crisis in the country is to be really vocal about it in your networks and on social media. And so that hashtag for the campaign is #actforabortionaccess. And so I would really encourage folks to use that, to make sure and also #WHPA to make sure that we're not just sort of speaking into the ether. This is a problem. This is a problem to say there is a problem, and we have a solution.

Jennie: Awesome. I hopeful. I am. This conversation has left me feeling energized and hopeful, which unfortunately with this podcast is not always the case. We're excited.

Jackie: Good. I'm so glad.

Jennie: Well, Jackie, thank you so much for being here today. I had so much fun talking to you.

Jackie: I know it's so good to talk to you. It's been a long time Jennie, but I'm so grateful to be here and I I'm also, I'm hopeful. I am. And so I hope that people understand the stakes, but also know that there is something that can be done about it.

Jennie: Okay. Y'all I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Jackie. I had so much fun talking to her. And again, the theme of this episode is joy. There's just so much excitement. So I hope you felt it too, and are feeling joy in your life right now and taking some time to celebrate those victories and the little things that bring us happiness. It's important because sometimes we let all the other things overwhelm us.

Jennie: Thanks for listening everyone. And we'll see you on our next episode of RePROS Fight Back. For more information, including show notes from this episode and previous episodes, please visit our website at reprosfightback.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at RePROS Fight Back, or on Instagram at reprosfb. If you like our show, please help others find it by sharing it with your friends and subscribing, rating and reviewing us on iTunes. Thanks for listening.

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