09.19.2024
Baldwin Leads Resolution Protecting Women’s Right to Emergency Health Care
New report shows abortion bans are causing preventable deaths; Under Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban, women were denied emergency reproductive care
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced a resolution in support of every woman’s basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care, regardless of where they live. The introduction comes as new reporting from ProPublica makes plain that Republican abortion bans are preventing women from receiving lifesaving emergency health care and resulting in preventable deaths.
“Under our state’s 1849 criminal abortion ban, Wisconsinites learned firsthand what it meant to not have the right to access lifesaving abortion care. For 15 months, we heard stories about women with unviable pregnancies or suffering miscarriages who were denied care until they were on the brink of death all because Republicans overturned Roe v. Wade. These are not exaggerations, they are real stories about what it means when we strip Americans of their freedom to control their own bodies,” said Senator Baldwin. “I’m in this fight until every woman has the freedom to decide what is best for her health, family, and future, without interference from judges and politicians – and that most certainly means when her life depends on it.”
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade over two years ago, nearly two dozen US states led by Republicans have passed, banned, or severely restricted access to abortion. These strict laws have created confusion around the treatment doctors can provide even when a pregnant patient’s life is in danger, as physicians fear that they may lose their medical license, be sued, or even charged with a felony if they perform life-saving emergency care. Despite the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act’s (EMTALA) requirements that Medicare-participating hospitals treat and stabilize pregnant patients in need of emergency medical care, women are being turned away from emergency rooms following the Dobbs decision, including in Wisconsin.
In Moyle v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court had the opportunity to reaffirm that federal law requires pregnant patients to have access to life-saving emergency care in every state, but instead, the Court dismissed the case and sent it back to the lower courts, effectively punting on making a decision on the case itself. While the litigation continues in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the health and lives of women remain at risk as uncertainty around emergency abortion care persists.
Senator Baldwin continues to lead the charge to restore women’s reproductive freedoms, championing several key initiatives that will make care more accessible for Wisconsin women and remove medically unnecessary restrictions that interfere with a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions. Senator Baldwin recently released a report on the dire state of reproductive health care in Wisconsin since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, including new findings on how many women were denied access to care, the impacts of those who were forced to travel out of state, and the long drive times that are continuing to limit access to health care.
In addition to leading 48 senators on legislation to restore reproductive rights nationwide, Senator Baldwin also cosponsors the Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act, which would protect abortion providers in states where abortion remains legal from Republicans’ attempts to restrict their practice and create uncertainty about their legal liability.
Along with Senator Baldwin, the resolution was led by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Full text of this resolution is available here.
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