June 9, 2022
Carson City, NV –
Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced that he has joined a coalition
of attorneys general urging congressional leadership to enact protections for
equitable access to reproductive health care. AG Ford and 18 other attorneys
general sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
outlining the protections they support.
“The right to reproductive health care is under sustained
attack, and we must be proactive in taking steps to protect this fundamental
right,” said AG Ford. “Congress must take action to ensure that access
to reproductive health care is equally available to all.”
In the letter, the attorneys general argue that without
codifying access to reproductive health care into law, historically oppressed
demographics will be disproportionately harmed if the Supreme Court overturns
the protections of Roe v. Wade.
In the letter, the attorneys general ask Congress to take
these crucial steps:
- Eliminating the Hyde Amendment, which bans the
use of Medicare and Medicaid funds from being used to cover abortion, from the
federal budget;
- Passing legislation requiring commercial
insurance plans cover abortion care if they also cover maternity benefits;
- Eliminating the rider in the appropriations
bill that prohibits the District of Columbia from using local funds for
abortion services;
- Preempting state restrictions on access to
abortion-relation medications approved by the FDA;
- Strengthening data privacy laws to protect the
privacy of people seeking reproductive care; and
- Expressly permitting the use of the Postal
Service to distribute FDA-approved abortion-related medications
In addition, the attorneys general urge the Senate to pass
the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. A majority of Americans
support legal access to abortion, and state voter suppression laws will affect
the ability of the Americans to have their voice heard. State laws that
criminalize abortion could also impact voting rights in states that
disenfranchise people with felony convictions.
In signing the letter, AG Ford joins the attorneys general
of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
Oregon, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
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