Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) voted in support of H.R. 3755, the Women’s Health Protection Act, critical bicameral legislation she cosponsored that will protect the right to abortion access across the country.

During consideration of H.R. 3755, Trahan argued for its passage on the House floor:

“Roe is on the verge of elimination and millions of women are rightly terrified of what that means for their bodily autonomy and the future of reproductive care, even beyond abortion,” Congresswoman Trahan said during her remarks. “Today, we’re going to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act because we know that no one can be more trusted to make the best health decisions for themselves than women.”

The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) protects the right to abortion access by creating a statutory right for health care providers to provide abortion care and a corresponding right for patients to receive care free from medically unnecessary restrictions that impede abortion access, including mandatory waiting periods, biased counseling, two-trip requirements, and mandatory ultrasounds.

Today’s vote comes just weeks after the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing Texas’s S.B. 8, a radical six-week abortion ban, to take effect. The law effectively ends at least 85 percent of abortion care in the state and renders the constitutional right to abortion access virtually meaningless for those seeking care in Texas. On December 1st, the Supreme Court will hear a challenge to a Mississippi ban, which presents a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. The WHPA explicitly prohibits bans like S.B. 8 and the Mississippi legislation while also providing additional tools for legal challenges against similar laws introduced in other states.

Congresswoman Trahan has long been a strong advocate for protecting reproductive rights. In February, Trahan voted in support of the American Rescue Plan, which expanded access to healthcare and provided additional funding for the Title X family planning program. In her first term, she co-sponsored legislation to repeal the discriminatory Hyde Amendment and block the Trump administration’s global gag rule. Additionally, when the Massachusetts Legislature was considering the ROE Act, Trahan testified in support of the legislation.

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