{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/2022/7/rep-sewell-votes-defend-women-s-access-reproductive-health-care", "Rep. Sewell Votes to Defend Women\u2019s Access to Reproductive Health Care", "2022-07-15", "2022", "2022-07", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri A. Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", "sewell", "https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) voted to defend women\u2019s access to reproductive health care in response to the Supreme Court\u2019s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and Republicans\u2019 push for a nationwide abortion ban. The Women's Health Protection Act will ensure Americans\u2019 right to make their own health decisions. The Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act will reaffirm the right to freely travel throughout the country to access reproductive care.\n\n\u201cThe Supreme Court\u2019s decision overturning Roe v. Wade was devastating, reversing nearly 50 years of legal precedent and stripping away a woman\u2019s right to make her own personal health care decisions,\u201d said Rep. Sewell. \u201cThis ruling will put women\u2019s lives on the line, especially here in Alabama where women die of pregnancy-related complications at one of the highest rates in the nation. I believe that a woman\u2019s deeply personal health care decisions should be made by her and her doctor, not her politicians.\u201d\n\nWith its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization, the Supreme Court erased nearly 50 years of legal precedent, fulfilling Republicans\u2019 longtime goal of stripping Americans of their reproductive health freedoms. At least eight states implemented abortion bans the day of the Dobbs ruling, and lawmakers have begun implementing additional restrictions. Many are even seeking to impede Americans\u2019 ability to access care across state lines and threatening to arrest doctors for providing care. Meanwhile, former Vice President Mike Pence and Republicans in Congress have called for a federal law outlawing abortion in all 50 states.\n\nThese attacks threaten the health, lives, and well-being of women across the country and particularly in Alabama which already suffers from one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation. Health care providers are practicing in fear of criminal prosecution leading to the delay and denial of life-saving care. Women who have been denied an abortion face a range of harmful outcomes, including an increase in household poverty, a greater likelihood of staying in contact with a violent partner and heightened risk of maternal death.\n\nIn response, the House again passed the Women's Health Protection Act to enshrine Roe v. Wade into federal law. Previously passed by the House last year, this landmark legislation has been updated to address the Dobbs ruling. The Women's Health Protection Act will uphold all Americans\u2019 freedom to make their own health care decisions as well as providers\u2019 freedom to provide lifesaving reproductive health care. This bill would supersede state legislation, voiding all state-level bans throughout the country.\n\nThe House also advanced the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, addressing attempts to restrict Americans\u2019 freedom of movement. This legislation will prohibit any attempt under state law to:\n\nimpede an individual from crossing state lines to obtain a legal abortion\n\ninterfere with a health care provider\u2019s ability to offer legal reproductive care\n\nrestrict individuals from helping others to seek a legal abortion\n\nobstruct the transportation of FDA-approved abortion medication.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:49:02Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sewell.house.gov/2022/7/rep-sewell-votes-defend-women-s-access-reproductive-health-care"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7332539428025484, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}