Starting soon! Support President & CEO Dr. Jamila Perritt @Reprorightsdoc as she testifies alongside Tohan of @AbortionStories and @michelebgoodwin sharing why we need #WHPA because #PoliticsHasNoPlace in private, medical decisions like abortion care. judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/prote…
Alright! Let's get this party started. Follow along as we live tweet. @SenBlumenthal is kicking us off with a great overview of the many threats on abortion care, including the upcoming SCOTUS challenge to Roe v. Wade which is why we need #WHPA now.
Thank you @SenBlumenthal for highlighting the existing restrictions on abortion care in states like Texas, Arkansas, and Alabama. "2021 is on track to have the most anti-abortion restrictions from state legislators in decades." These laws are DANGEROUS and MEDICALLY UNECESSARY.
"Access to abortion is an essential form of medical care" @SenBlumenthal on why we need #WHPA and why #PoliticsHasNoPlace in health care decisions like abortion care.
We love to hear it... @SenBlumenthal quoting @Reprorightsdoc in his opening statement in this hearing on #WHPA. They're right - racial justice is at the crux of abortion access. When we don't protect abortion care, we deepen racial inequities in our communities.
Now we're hearing Sen. Cruz's opening statement laden with stigmatizing misinformation about abortion. The one thing he's said that we agree with: "everyone for abortion has already been born." Yes, Senator. That is true. We have been born, and we make decisions about our bodies.
But honestly, maybe just mute this for a bit...
Annnnd we're back! We're excited to kick off the witnesses starting with our own Dr. Jamila Perritt @Reprorightsdoc #WHPA #ActForAbortionAccess #PoliticsHasNoPlace
“I am here today to talk with you about the people my colleagues and I take care of every day – people who are working to care for themselves and their communities.” @reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
“The Women’s Health Protection Act, also known as WHPA, is a critical step to eliminating existing disparities in access to abortion care.” @Reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
“As a physician, I find it unconscionable that politicians and pundits paint abortion as a hopelessly divisive issue when in fact it is a deeply personal decision rooted in autonomy, self-determination, health, and well-being." @reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace
“Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, immigrants, young people, LBGTQ+ people, as well as those living in rural areas bear the brunt of these ideological battles at the expense of their dignity and at the expense of their health.” @reprorightsdoc #PoliticsHasNoPlace
“I want to be very clear. Abortion is health care. Abortion should not be singled out for exclusion or have additional administrative or financial burdens placed upon it.” @Reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
“Abortion is extremely safe and none of the arbitrary barriers I just mentioned make it safer.” @Reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
“Abortion is safe, and restrictions like the ones WHPA help stop make it less safe. As a health care provider, it is abhorrent to me that the laws restricting abortion are passed under the pretense of making abortion safe when they actually do the opposite.” @reprorightsdoc #WHPA
“Restrictions on abortion care have far reaching consequences both deepening existing inequities and worsening health outcomes for pregnant people and those giving birth.” @Reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
“It is disingenuous for politicians to claim that they care about our nation’s ongoing maternal health crisis and in the same breath attempt to limit access to abortion care through unnecessary regulation and restriction.” @reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace
"It is undeniable: we have a two-tiered system of care in the United States and it is getting worse. The stakes are as high as they have ever been." @reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
"These measures to restrict and criminalize abortion are yet another form of the reproductive oppression that people of color have been subject to for centuries." @reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
"I went to medical school, to become a doctor to take care of my community. We deserve more than this. This is care. This is not justice." @reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
"As a doctor and a Black woman, when I think about the care that my community needs and deserves, I know that access to abortion is an essential component for living healthy, free lives." @reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
"The time for this subcommittee to act is now. My patients deserve support. They deserve autonomy and agency. These are medical decisions." @reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
"I urge members of this subcommittee to take this important step and support WHPA before access to abortion care deteriorates further. The lives of my patients and my colleagues’ patients, as well as our communities depend on it." @reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace
YES Dr. Perritt! Thank you for speaking out. Now we hear from @michelebgoodwin
"Black women continue to struggle against efforts to deny them reproductive autonomy and independence, including that guaranteed by the Constitution." @michelebgoodwin #WHPA
"The Women’s Health Protection Act deserves your attention and support." @michelebgoodwin #WHPA
"Congress has the power to protect pregnant people now." #michelebgoodwin #WHPA #ActForAbortionAccess
Now we hear from Tohan of @AbortionStories "My name is Tohan. I am a mom, an immigrant, a minister’s daughter, and I have had an abortion." #WHPA
"I felt in my bones that I could not continue the pregnancy. I took a leap of faith and confided in my father, a minister, who helped protect me from my abuser." Tohan of @AbortionStories #WHPA
"When I arrived, they preached to me that God does not agree with my choices. I have my own relationship with God. I do not need someone else telling me what God thinks of me." Tohan of @AbortionStories #WHPA
"Like most people having abortions, I already have a child. I know what pregnancy is like and I know what being a parent entails. They preached about choices, but I did not feel like I had one while I was there." Tohan of @AbortionStories #WHPA
"The Clinic Access Support Network showed up for me. They bought me meals, gave me a ride to the clinic, and checked in to make sure I was fine." Tohan of @AbortionStories #WHPA
"Senators, I am asking you to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act. We need a federal law to protect us from these medically unnecessary laws that delay our access to abortion care and make the experience really difficult." Tohan of @AbortionStories #WHPA
"We deserve medically accurate information. We deserve to have our appointments as soon as we make our decision. We deserve abortion care in our communities." Tohan of @AbortionStories #WHPA
"I am thankful for my abortion because it allowed me to leave my abuser, care for my son, and move on with my life." Tohan of @AbortionStories #WHPA
"Something we say at @AbortionStories is 'everyone loves someone who had an abortion.' I hope my story helps you remember the laws that you pass impact your constituents, like me, and your loved ones who have abortions." Thank you so much Tohan for sharing your story. #WHPA
@AbortionStories We've now heard from all witnesses, time for questions! Thank you @Reprorightsdoc for sharing the FACTS!
"Providers like me are forced to give medically inaccurate information, people are made to travel 100s of miles to seek care that others can access in their communities." @Reprorightsdoc on the impact of restrictions on abortion care #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace
"It is 188x more likely for someone in Mississippi to die giving birth than it is for them to die having an abortion." @michelebgoodwin on the link between abortion restrictions and maternal mortality, especially for Black women. #WHPA
"None of these restrictions are based in any medical evidence, at all. They're not based in any science & they absolutely do not protect anyone accessing care. It actually does the opposite. It makes care less safe." @Reprorightsdoc on the negative impact of abortion restrictions
"Too many people unfortunately lack access to essential health care, including abortion care. It has devastating impact on agency, autonomy, and self-determination" @Reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace
After Tohan was misled by a crisis pregnancy center, she was in a "race for time and race to save my life and save the lives of the people I was responsible for." It shouldn't be this way, we should be able to get care when we need it. @AbortionStories #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace
WE LOVE @SenBlumenthal giving some airtime to the EACH Act that would ensure insurance coverage on abortion care, no matter your source of insurance. #4EACHofUs
They're taking a brief recess. Hydrate, have a snack, and tune back into the #WHPA hearing shortly! We're so proud of @Reprorightsdoc, @michelebgoodwin, and Tohan of @AbortionStories and we're cheering you on!
One of the witnesses from the other side shares that #WHPA would "codify and expand" access to abortion. We're like... Yup... That's the point... #ActForAbortionAccess
This same witness (who we have to name, is a white lady), is now misrepresenting the experiences of Black women and people of color who face inequities in all areas of health care including access to abortion care, pregnancy care, and post-natal care. #WHPA #ActForAbortionAccess
We're now hearing from @SenOssoff as he reflects on how many counties in Georgia lack ob/gyn care and physician access in general. #WHPA #ActForAbortionAccess
"The idea that limiting access to abortion care has a benefit Black women is offensive and not grounded in any medical evidence or data whatsoever." @Reprorightsdoc #WHPA #PoliticsHasNoPlace #ActForAbortionAccess
"None of us trained to be able to defend the care that we provide medically, because of political interference." @Reprorightsdoc #PoliticsHasNoPlace
"I'm a doctor. I'm not a politician. The idea that anyone would be able to interrupt these confidential conversations about their future and well beings is unethical. It disintegrates the relationship between patients and providers." @Reprorightsdoc #PoliticsHasNoPlace #WHPA
"No. It doesn't." @Reprorightsdoc confirming that abortion does NOT cause breast cancer. #WHPA
"Absolutely not." @Reprorightsdoc confirming that abortion does NOT lead to future infertility. #WHPA
"There is absolutely no evidence to support that." @Reprorightsdoc confirming that so-called "abortion-reversal" is NOT REAL. #WHPA
@Reprorightsdoc That's a wrap! THANK YOU for the expertise of @Reprorightsdoc, @michelebgoodwin & Tohan of @AbortionStories. Today you showed up for the countless people whose lives will be benefitted by the passage of #WHPA. Expanding abortion care helps EVERYONE. #PoliticsHasNoPlace in care.
And thank you to @SenBlumenthal and the other co-sponsors of the Women's Health Protection Act for giving these expert witnesses an opportunity to share their stories on why we need the #ActForAbortionAccess now because #PoliticsHasNoPlace in private medical decisions.
@threadreaderapp unroll please :)
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