[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 36 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S831-S832]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     WOMEN'S HEALTH PROTECTION ACT

 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I am proud to be an original 
cosponsor of the Women's Health Protection Act and pleased to submit my 
remarks regarding this critical legislation. I regret that I am unable 
to attend the full Senate vote on this bill today due to a death in the 
family.
  The Women's Health Protection Act would guarantee the right to an 
abortion. The bill would allow a patient to access an abortion and 
ensure providers are able to deliver those services

[[Page S832]]

without the burden of medically unnecessary restrictions.
  Now more than ever, we need to protect this fundamental right. Nearly 
50 years after the Supreme Court guaranteed the right to safe and legal 
abortion in Roe v. Wade, reproductive rights are under direct attack.
  States are introducing laws at an alarming rate that seek to 
dramatically limit or outright ban abortion access. Some of these 
restrictive laws ban abortion after the 6th week of pregnancy, before 
many people know they are pregnant.
  Even more concerning, we may no longer be able to rely on the Supreme 
Court to protect reproductive rights. The Supreme Court recently 
finished hearing oral arguments in a case about Mississippi's 
restrictive abortion law. Many Americans, including myself, are worried 
that the Supreme Court could significantly diminish or altogether 
overturn Roe v. Wade.
  The repercussions of such a decision would be devastating. According 
to the Guttmacher Institute, more than half of U.S. States are poised 
to ban or severely restrict abortion access if this landmark decision 
is overturned. I remember what it was like prior to Roe v. Wade. I 
understand the heartbreaking and often unsafe situations that pregnant 
individuals face.
  We must respond by passing the Women's Health Protection Act. 
Congress must do everything it can to ensure that individuals are able 
to access critical medical care and make the best decisions possible 
for their health. I am proud to cosponsor this important bill, and I 
won't stop fighting to protect fundamental reproductive rights.

                          ____________________