Woman’s Health Protection Act Would Codify Roe

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, abortions in Arizona could become illegal overnight as its 1901 anti-abortion law goes into effect. The statute was written 11 years before Arizona gained statehood. It is hailed by Governor Doug Ducey, who says Roe v. Wade should be overturned.

Under the statute, anyone who provides a woman with a surgical or medically-induced abortion would face a two-to-five-year jail term.

Exemptions are made only when a woman’s life is in danger, not when her fetus has a congenital abnormality like Down Syndrome, or when she’s a rape or incest victim.

The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) would end these misogynistic bills as well as a slew of trigger laws that would take effect immediately if Roe is overturned.

The omnipresent endorsement in the House

The was first introduced in 2013 by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) when WHPA Republicans controlled the US House. Chu has introduced the bill several times since then but Representatives had little interest in passing it. Not so when Chu introduced the bill again last June.

Democrats aggressively embraced the bill on September 24, after Texas enacted its heartbeat law, banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, in flagrant violation of Roe.

The WHPA bill passed along party lines, 218-211, with one Democrat, Henry Cueller (D-Tex), voting with Republicans.

Chu told HuffPost, “The Women’s Health Protection Act would make the provisions of Roe v. Wade the law of the land regardless of what zip code you are in. “There would be challenges, of course, but yes, it would be indeed the law of the land.”

Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal is the bill’s lead sponsor in the Senate. He has 47 co-sponsors, not enough to beat the 60-vote filibuster. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer said the bill would be heard.

House co-sponsors

 In the House, Chu’s co-sponsors are:

• Lois Frankel (D-Fla)
• Ayanna Presley (D-Ma)
• Veronica Escobar (D-Tex) and
• Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis)

The Center for Reproductive Rights reports, “Politicians have passed nearly 500 state laws restricting abortion access over the past decade.

“As a result, nearly 90 percent of US counties are without a single abortion provider, and five states are down to their last clinic,” The Center reports, noting that 61 percent of Americans are in favor of the WHPA.

“The people hurt most by abortion restrictions are those who already face barriers to accessing health care, including Black, Indigenous and people of color, women working to make ends meet, members of the LGBT community, immigrants, young people, those living in rural communities and people with disabilities.”

Spineless Susan Collins

Spineless Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), who claims she endorses Roe and that she would like to codify the decision, says she won’t vote for the Woman’s Health Protection Act.

The Democrats’ only hope in passing the bill is winning two more Senate seats in the 2022 midterms, whose votes would put an end to Mitch McConnell’s graveyard filibuster.