Blumenthal, Murphy & Democratic Caucus Introduce Bill to Restore Abortion Access Nationwide on 3rd Anniversary of Roe Being Overturned

Women’s Health Protection Act comes as Trump and Congressional Republicans move to restrict a woman’s right to choose and toward a national abortion ban
[Hartford, CT] – Today, on the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturningRoe v. Wade, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led the entire Democratic caucus, including U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), 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 a woman’s right to choose and Congressional Republicans barrel ahead with a bill that defunds Planned Parenthood. Put together, Trump and Congressional Republicans’ assault on Americans’ reproductive rights is a backdoor national abortion ban, ripping away millions of women’s access to abortion care and right to control their bodies.
“This issue is about more than health care; it is about women’s rights, individual rights, and human rights. The foundation of the Women’s Health Protection Act is simply the right to make your own health care decisions. Three years after Dobbs, American women don’t have that right. Today, thanks to Republican lawmakers and conservative courts, a woman in America might walk into an ER and faint, bleeding, and be refused treatment. That woman might die,”said Blumenthal.“By restoring abortion access and implementing basic protections against medically unnecessary restrictions on health care, the Women’s Health Protection Act overturns the death sentence handed down by Dobbs.”
“In the three years sinceRoewas overturned, newly enacted, draconian abortion bans have put women’s lives at risk all over the country. Women – not politicians or radical right-wing judges – should be in charge of decisions about their health care, but Donald Trump and Republicans are hellbent on chipping away at women’s reproductive rights so they can eventually pass a nationwide abortion ban. This legislation would stop Republicans from turning back the clock on women’s freedom in this country and restore the right to reproductive health care,”said Murphy.
“First, Donald Trump and Republicans overturnedRoe v Wade. Now, they are continuing their crusade for a national abortion ban, stripping away a woman’s right to choose and control her body, healthcare, and future. Republicans continue to show that they will stop at nothing in their pursuit to stop a woman from having the right to choose,”said Baldwin.“In Wisconsin, we’ve seen how these attacks on women’s reproductive rights and freedoms have hurt our neighbors, friends, and families – and we won’t stand for it. The Women’s Health Protection Act is a necessary step to restore Americans’ constitutional right to choose what’s best for their families, stop Congressional and state-level Republicans from further putting themselves between a doctor and a woman, and once and for all, give women their rights and freedoms back.”
“Three years ago, Donald Trump and Republicans succeeded in overturningRoe,ripping away a Constitutional right for the first time in American history, and causing a full-blown health care crisis in our nation. Since then, we have seen with painful clarity how Republican abortion bans are putting women’s lives in danger, forcing providers to close their doors, decimating access to maternal health care, and forcing women to remain pregnant—no matter their circumstances,”said Murray.“I’m proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing theWomen’s Health Protection Actto restore the right to abortion and end the national nightmare Republicans created by overturningRoe. Democrats will never stop fighting to restore abortion access nationwide—nothing less.”
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 the Dobbs decision, 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 include 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 Actcreates federal rights for patients and providers to protect abortion access. Specifically, theWomen’s Health Protection Actwould:
The legislation is also led by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Patty Murray (D-WA) and sponsored by the entire Democratic caucus, including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. 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), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), 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), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Yesterday, Blumenthal held a press conference highlighting how the Republican Reconciliation bill will defund Planned Parenthood and other important reproductive health care programs. Video of the press conference is availablehere.
Full text of the bill is availablehere. A one-pager on the bill is availablehere.
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