Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
April 03, 2023
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) to help reintroduce the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Healthcare (EACH) Act, a bicameral bill that would help guarantee abortion coverage—without restrictions—for millions of Americans. The EACH Act ends the Hyde Amendment and lifts unjust abortion coverage restrictions for those who depend on Medicaid and other government-sponsored plans or programs. In a post-Dobbs America, this legislation would help protect the right to abortion and ensure everyone can get the reproductive health care they need.
“For far too long, the Hyde Amendment has blocked the fundamental right to abortion services for those who rely on Medicaid, who are often those most severely impacted by abortion restrictions, and especially in a post-Roe America. Abortion is health care and every woman who is seeking reproductive health care services should have access, regardless of income,” said Shaheen. “I’m helping to reintroduce the EACH Act to finally end the Hyde Amendment, which is a cruel policy that systematically denies medical services to women who rely on Medicaid to access the care they need to stay healthy and safe. I’ll keep fighting to protect the right to reproductive freedom for all Granite Staters and Americans regardless of income, zip code or any other differentiating factor.”
“Every woman in New Hampshire, regardless of their income, should be able to make their own health care decisions,” said Hassan. “Especially in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, we have a responsibility to fight for a woman’s reproductive freedom, and this bill will do just that. I will continue working to protect abortion access and women’s freedom.”
Bill text can be read here.
Along with Shaheen, Hassan, Duckworth, Murray and Hirono, the Senate bill is co-sponsored by: U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Fetterman (D-PA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).
Senator Shaheen and Hassan are an unrelenting advocate for women’s reproductive rights. As it became clear that the Supreme Court would likely overturn Roe v. Wade, Shaheen and Hassan held a press conference with the New Hampshire congressional delegation and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England to discuss women’s freedoms and the implications for reproductive health with the overturning of the landmark Supreme Court case. For years, Shaheen has fought to expand coverage of women’s reproductive health and successfully pushed an effort through Congress that was signed into law to ensure servicewomen have access to abortions in cases of rape or incest. Shaheen also leads policy priorities that invest in preventative care, including through her legislation, which Senator Hassan also joined in introducing, to reduce the cost of contraception for servicewomen and dependents in military families. Senator Shaheen authored an op-ed for the Union Leader underscoring the threats to women’s freedoms and rights in a post-Roe America, which can be read in full here. Last month, Senator Hassan led group of Senators, including Shaheen, on a letter to Danco Laboratories, a manufacturer of mifepristone, urging them to submit an application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to add miscarriage management to the medication’s label. Currently, mifepristone’s label includes medication abortion, but it can also be safely and legally used for miscarriage management. Earlier this month, Shaheen led a letter with a group of 37 Senators to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, underscoring the serious national security imperatives tied to providing U.S. service members access to protected leave for abortion and reproductive health care services. Senators Shaheen and Hassan are leaders in the fight to protect Title X family planning centers.
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