On Thursday, Congressional Democrats held a press conference flanked by Planned Parenthood president Leana Wen boasting of new legislation intended to cripple states from enacting pro-life legislation and remove pro-life laws already on the books.
The legislation has a predictably euphemistic name, the “Women’s Health Protection Act” (WHPA), and is sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA).
The proposed bill would block and upend vital pro-life legislation, such as so-called “heartbeat bills” — which protect unborn babies with a detectable heartbeat from abortion — waiting periods, and mandates on ultrasounds, among other abortion restrictions.
According to pro-abortion ActForWomen.org, WHPA is described as “a federal bill that would protect the right to abortion by creating a safeguard against restrictions on abortion that apply to no similar medical care. These restrictions interfere with patients’ personal decision-making and block access to safe, legal abortion care.”
According to Rep. Chu, who praised WHPA on Thursday, there are already 169 Democrat cosponsors for the bill from the House, and an increasing surge of Democrat senators signing-on.
“Our bill finally puts a stop to the state-based attacks that anti-abortion advocates have been trying to use to undermine or even reverse Roe,” Chu said at the press conference, according to The Blaze.
“It means no abortion bans,” she added, boasting that the bill ”prohibits any non-medical restrictions on our bodies,” such as “no heartbeat bills,” waiting periods, and ultrasound mandates.
Sen. Blumenthal also spoke at the presser, championing abortion “rights” that must be “protected, once and for all and forever, against the demagogues who would restrict them,” The Blaze noted.
Blumenthal posted a video of the news conference to his Facebook page with the caption:
Access to safe & legal abortions isn’t just a women’s issue—it’s a human rights issue. Today, we introduce the Women’s Health Protection Act to guarantee a person’s right to control their own body & future, everywhere in America.
We refuse to stand by as extremist state lawmakers try to undermine women’s health care. Proud to stand up with Judy Chu& hundreds of our colleagues to say: It’s time to fight back against anti-choice state laws. #ActForWomen
The extremist pro-abortion legislation comes in the face of pro-life wins across the nation. A number of states have recently passed heartbeat bills, such as Ohio and Georgia, and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the nation’s strictest pro-life bill into law last Wednesday; the law outlaws all abortion, save an exception to protect the life of the mother. In addition, Louisiana, where the governor is a Democrat, is expected to pass heartbeat legislation, too.
According to ActForWomen.org, “Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is a lead cosponsor in the Senate, and Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) are lead cosponsors in the House of Representatives.”
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H/t The Blaze