Rep. Stansbury Votes to Pass Bill to Codify Abortion Access Nationwide
The Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill Rep. Stansbury co-sponsored, passed the House for the second time after Republican senators voted against the bill.
WASHINGTON — Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) voted once again to pass a bill to establish a federal statutory right for abortion into law nationwide this morning. The Women’s Health Protection Act, which Rep. Stansbury cosponsored in its original form in September, solidifies access to abortion services and reproductive health care as a human and constitutional right.
Rep. Stansbury voted to pass the bill with 218 Members of the House of Representatives after Senate Republicans voted against the bill in the Senate in February. Since the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, several clinics from Mississippi and Texas have announced plans to relocate to New Mexico.
“We must act now to protect our fundamental human right to make decisions about our own bodies.” said Rep. Stansbury. “I am proud to say that abortion remains legal and accessible in New Mexico, but we must stand firm against the Supreme Court and the Republican Party’s attempt to turn back the clock on women and pregnant individuals’ fundamental rights. I urge my Senate colleagues to urgently eliminate the filibuster to protect abortion access nationwide.”
Following the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a wave of states have enacted antiquated abortion bans—some without exception for the life and health of the pregnant person—that prevent pregnant people from seeking their full health care options.
The Women's Health Protection Act:
Affirms reproductive justice as a human and Constitutional right: Protects a person’s ability to determine whether or not to continue or end a pregnancy.
Protects health care providers: Provides federal protections for healthcare providers who provide these services free from medically unnecessary restrictions that interfere with a patient’s individual choice or the provider-patient relationship.
The House passed the Women’s Health Protection Act in September 2021. The legislation subsequently failed to pass in the Senate.
The full text of The Women’s Health Protection Act (H.R. 3755) can be found here.