WASHINGTON, D.C. — Marking three years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Senate Democrats, led by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), reintroduced the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025 on Tuesday. This legislation aims to restore the right to abortion and guarantee access to comprehensive reproductive health care for millions of Americans.
“A woman’s right to make her own health care decisions is sacred and non-negotiable. Period,” said Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), a sponsor of the bill. “In the years since Roe was overturned, we’ve seen the terrifying reality of abortion bans. These laws have cost lives and caused unnecessary suffering for so many families. We must restore abortion access nationwide, and I’m proud to join my colleagues to introduce this bill that would do just that.”
The Women’s Health Protection Act seeks to establish federal protections for abortion access, prohibiting states from imposing arbitrary restrictions on early-term abortions, including mandatory waiting periods and medically unnecessary ultrasounds. The bill also ensures access to abortion later in pregnancy if the life or health of the mother is at risk and explicitly protects the right to travel out of state for the procedure.
“This issue is about more than health care; it is about women’s rights, individual rights, and human rights,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). “The foundation of the Women’s Health Protection Act is simply the right to make your own health care decisions. Three years after Dobbs, American women don’t have that right. Today, thanks to Republican lawmakers and conservative courts, a woman in America might walk into an ER and faint, bleeding, and be refused treatment. That woman might die. By restoring abortion access and implementing basic protections against medically unnecessary restrictions on health care, the Women’s Health Protection Act overturns the death sentence handed down by Dobbs.”
The reintroduction of this bill comes amid ongoing political and legal battles over abortion access. The 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned nearly half a century of precedent, triggering state-level abortion bans across the country. Senate Democrats argue that these changes have resulted in significant threats to women’s health, even in states like Pennsylvania, where abortion remains legal but could face broader federal challenges.
“First, Donald Trump and Republicans overturned Roe v. Wade. Now, they are continuing their crusade for a national abortion ban, stripping away a woman’s right to choose and control her body, healthcare, and future,” said Senator Baldwin. “The Women’s Health Protection Act is a necessary step to restore Americans’ constitutional right to choose what’s best for their families, stop Congressional and state-level Republicans from further putting themselves between a doctor and a woman, and once and for all, give women their rights and freedoms back.”
Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), have fully backed the bill. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) emphasized the broader implications of overturning Roe, saying, “Three years ago, Donald Trump and Republicans succeeded in overturning Roe, ripping away a Constitutional right for the first time in American history, and causing a full-blown health care crisis in our nation. Since then, we have seen with painful clarity how Republican abortion bans are putting women’s lives in danger, forcing providers to close their doors, decimating access to maternal health care, and forcing women to remain pregnant—no matter their circumstances. I’m proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing the Women’s Health Protection Act to restore the right to abortion and end the national nightmare Republicans created by overturning Roe. Democrats will never stop fighting to restore abortion access nationwide—nothing less.”
The next chapter in the fight for reproductive rights will be determined as Senate Democrats push for legislative action in the coming months.
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