On Third Anniversary of Roe Being Overturned, Merkley and Wyden Join Bill to Restore Abortion Access Nationwide

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturningRoe v. Wade,Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined the entire Senate Democratic caucus in introducing theWomen’s Health Protection Act of 2025,legislation to guarantee access to abortion everywhere across the country and restore the right to comprehensive reproductive health care for millions of Americans.
The bill’s introduction comes as the Trump Administration further attacks reproductive freedom and Congressional Republicans barrel ahead with a bill that defunds Planned Parenthood. Put together, Trump and Congressional Republicans’ assault on Americans’ reproductive rights is ripping away millions of women’s access to abortion care and right to control their bodies.
“Politicians have no place in the exam room,”said Merkley. “The freedom to be in control of your own body is an essential freedom. Here in America, everyone should have the same right to make medical decisions about their own body, and to access the care they need—including reproductive care—free from political interference. TheWomen’s Health Protection ActcodifiesRoe v. Wadeinto law and protects access to the full scope of reproductive health care.”
“Three years after gutting Roe, Donald Trump and Republicans across the country aren't slowing down on their efforts to strip women of the right to make their own health care decisions,”said Wyden.“This bill will take the much-needed step of codifying reproductive health care protections under Roe once and for all, and stop Republicans in their crusade to put a politician in every exam room and bedroom in America. I am proud to join my Democratic colleagues in making sure every woman in red and blue states alike once again has the right to choose their future.”
President Trump appointed the Supreme Court Justices who ruled in theDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organizationcase to overturnRoe v. Wadeand nearly 50 years of precedent. Since theDobbsdecision, 19 states have banned abortion or severely restricted women from being able to access the procedure, leaving one in three American women without access to safe, legal abortion care. Additionally, state legislatures across the country have introduced hundreds of bills to codify medically unnecessary restrictions that limit access to abortion care.
In his second term, President Trump has continued to relentlessly attack reproductive rights, including freezing Title X funding for clinics that offer reproductive care, cutting Biden-era emergency abortion protections, pardoning anti-abortion extremists, and fighting to defund Planned Parenthood. Additionally, the House-passed Republican budget bill kicks 16 million people off their health insurance and defunds Planned Parenthood—threatening the closure of 200 health centers across the country and putting access to vital reproductive care for millions of families at risk.
TheWomen’s Health Protection Actof 2025creates federal rights for patients and providers to protect abortion access. Specifically, theWomen’s Health Protection Act of 2025would:
Merkley and Wyden are cosponsors of theWomen’s Health Protection Act of 2025,which is led in the Senate by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Patty Murray (D-WA). The legislation is supported by the entire Democratic caucus, including Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D- DE) Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Full text of the bill is available by clickinghere. A one-pager on the bill is available by clickinghere.
###