Catholics for Choice Applauds House Passage of Women’s Health Protection Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, September 24, 2021
Contact: John Becker, Communications Specialist
Phone: (202) 203-0931
Email: jbecker@catholicsforchoice.org
Catholics for Choice Applauds House Passage of Women’s Health Protection Act
WASHINGTON – Catholics for Choice, which uplifts and amplifies the voices of the majority of Catholics who believe in reproductive freedom, issued the following statement today from President Jamie L. Manson celebrating the historic passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act (HR 3755), a critical bill to safeguard abortion access nationwide, in the U.S. House of Representatives:
“With the passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act, the United States House of Representatives has affirmed and advanced the basic human right of every person to access comprehensive, affordable, compassionate, and equitable abortion care. We thank the bill’s sponsors and cosponsors — particularly Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) — for championing reproductive health, rights, and justice for all, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for bringing this critical legislation to the House floor.
“Over the past decade, states across the country have passed nearly 500 laws blatantly designed to undermine long-held constitutional rights and to single out abortion for regulation that applies to no similar medical care. The recently-passed Senate Bill 8 in Texas represents an extreme example of these attempts to eliminate abortion access in the United States, but it is far from the first and will not be the last. Indeed, because of these relentless attacks on reproductive freedom, abortion access has already been reduced or even eliminated in large segments of the nation, particularly for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); those working to make ends meet; members of the LGBTQI+ community; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; and people with disabilities.
“As Catholics, we are called to advocate for policies that advance the human rights of all people, but most especially the vulnerable and marginalized in our society, who are most harmed by abortion restrictions. House passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act is a victory for reproductive, economic, racial, and Catholic social justice that results from decades of leadership and organizing by women of color. We are particularly grateful to Speaker Pelosi and 71 co-sponsoring representatives for whom this vote is a demonstration of their faithful pro-choice Catholicism. We call on the Senate to approve this bill and President Biden to sign it into law, to bring us closer to our vision of a world where all people are empowered to determine their reproductive destinies according to their own consciences and circumstances.”
Catholics for Choice shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to a person’s well-being and respect, and affirm the capacity of all people to make moral decisions about their lives.