06.04.2024

ICYMI: Senator Baldwin Questions Wisconsin Doctor at Senate Hearing on Devastating Impacts of Abortion Bans

Ahead of two-year anniversary, Wisconsin doctor testifies at Senate hearing on impact of overturning Roe v. Wade

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, held a hearing to discuss the dire impacts of Republican abortion bans in the two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and nearly 50 years of precedent. The hearing featured Wisconsin Dr. Allison Linton, MD, OB/GYN and Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood Wisconsin, who discussed the toll overturning Roe v. Wade has taken on Wisconsin patients and providers.

“In Wisconsin and across the nation, the stark reality of post-Roe America has been dire—from endangering women’s lives to forcing providers to navigate impossible situations, women have been stripped of the right and freedom to control their bodies and decide what’s best for their families,” said Senator Baldwin. “Today, we heard gut-wrenching testimony from Dr. Linton and other experts who are watching women suffer every day because they no longer have the right to control their bodies. I will not back down from this fight until we pass my bill to restore the right to abortion nationwide and allow women to make their own health care decisions without interference from judges or politicians.”

“Under the 1849 law, instead of being able to follow the medicine – offering patients all their options and letting them choose – we would call additional colleagues asking their opinions, we would discuss cases with our hospital’s lawyers,” said Dr. Linton.  “And far too often, we would have to look our patients in the eye and tell them that despite having the medical training to help them and knowing that an abortion was a safe and medically appropriate option, we couldn’t help them in their home state due to a law written over 170 years ago by legislators who likely had no medical training and certainly had no understanding of modern medicine.”

Senator Baldwin has been leading the fight to restore reproductive rights in the wake of the Dobbs decision, leading or co-sponsoring legislation to protect and expand access to reproductive health care:

• Women’s Health Protection Act – Senator Baldwin re-introduced her Women’s Health Protection Act with a record number of co-sponsors – 48 Senators and 208 House members. The legislation creates federal rights for patients and providers to protect abortion access and creates federal protections against medically unnecessary restrictions that undermine Americans’ access to health care and intrude upon personal decision-making.
• Right to Contraception Act – Senator Baldwin is a co-sponsor of the Right to Contraception Act, a bill to put into law Americans’ right to contraception, which the Supreme Court first recognized more than half a century ago in its Griswold v. Connecticut decision.
• Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act – Senator Baldwin introduced this legislation to provide women the support they need to access reproductive health services by providing grants to organizations, including abortion funds, to offset the cost of travel-related expenses.
• My Body, My Data Act – Senator Baldwin is also a co-sponsor of My Body, My Data to protect personal reproductive and sexual health data by minimizing the information collected and retained, and preventing that information from being disclosed or misused. This bill is aimed at preventing people getting, seeking, or facilitating reproductive health care from being at risk of having their digital footprints weaponized against them.
• Protecting Service Members and Military Families’ Access to Health Care Act – With servicemembers stationed based on the needs of the nation and not personal preference, many serve in states that have banned, restricted, or worked to curtail access to abortion. In response, Senator Baldwin and her colleagues introduced legislation aimed at ensuring service members have access to comprehensive care, regardless of where they are stationed.
• Reproductive Health Care Training Act – In June, Senator Baldwin introduced legislation to ensure that health care professionals can get the training and education they need to meet Americans’ dire reproductive health care needs. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, medical education institutions face additional obstacles in maintaining their accreditation and ensuring that residents and students receive proper training in abortion care.
• Convenient Contraception Act – Alongside more than a dozen of her colleagues, Senator Baldwin introduced legislation that would improve access to contraceptive products, including over-the-counter contraceptives. The bill provides individuals covered by private health insurance with the option to receive up to a full year of safe, effective contraception at the time their prescription is issued instead of the current three-month supply or less that is standard in many states.

Full video of Senator Baldwin’s opening statement and questions are available here.

Full video of Dr. Linton’s testimony is available here.

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