Shaheen, Hassan & Women of the Senate Vow to Defend Women’s Reproductive Rights Ahead of One-Year Dobbs Anniversary
(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) participated in a press conference hosted by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Democratic women senators ahead of the June 24th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade and stripped reproductive health care freedom from 22 million women and counting.
The Senators marked the coming one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision — which was the result of a calculated, decades-long effort by Republicans to fill our courts with extreme, anti-abortion judges — by speaking out about how Republicans have caused a full-fledged health care crisis by forcing women in states across America to stay pregnant against their will, even when their lives are in danger.
Senator Shaheen spoke about the draconian restrictions women service members face when stationed in Republican-controlled states, and her efforts to pass her legislation – the Protecting Service Members and Military Families’ Access to Health Care Act – to codify the Pentagon’s policies on providing necessary leave for reproductive health care services. The bill would also ensure service members and their families can access non-covered reproductive health care, including abortion services, regardless of the state in which they are stationed.
“The Roe anniversary used to be something we celebrated – a historic moment for women’s rights and fundamental civil liberties for women to control their own bodies. Instead, we’re looking back at the trauma that so many women have been forced to endure because of extreme GOP lawmakers who believe they should be allowed to control women’s bodies, including the bodies of our female service members. Servicewomen and military families are among the most vulnerable, with no choice over where they or their loved ones are stationed, and what state laws may govern women’s bodies,” said Shaheen. “That’s why I’m leading legislation to codify the Pentagon’s policy to provide protected leave for abortion and reproductive health care services to military members and their families. I am prepared to use every tool possible to protect access to care and ensure the decision on if, when and how to start a family remains in the hands of women.”
Senator Hassan discussed the impacts of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe and the Americans across the country who have stood up to protect a woman’s fundamental freedom in the aftermath of the decision.
“Across the country, women are grappling with—often in horrific ways that jeopardize their health and their very lives—the personal impacts of the Supreme Court decision nearly one year ago,” said Hassan. “I’m proud to join my colleagues today to make clear that we will never let up in our efforts to stand up for a woman’s fundamental freedom and autonomy.”
Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) also spoke at the press conference.
Senators Shaheen and Hassan are unrelenting advocates 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 co-sponsors, to bring the cost of contraception for servicewomen and dependents in military families in line with coverage of the civilians they’re sworn to protect. 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. In February, Senator Hassan led a 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 year, 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 services. She leads new legislation that would codify the Pentagon’s policy to provide protected leave for abortions and reproductive medical care. Senators Shaheen and Hassan are leaders in the fight to protect Title X family planning centers.
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