House Democrats want taxpayers to pick up the tab for a host of abortion-related services, including travel, hotels, childcare, “escorts” and “doula care,” as part of a bill timed to the one-year anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson.
The Abortion Justice Act, sponsored by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts Democrat, would circumvent the Hyde Amendment’s ban on federal funds for abortion by earmarking $350 million annually for grants to “increase abortion access or support individuals who need abortion access.”
That includes covering “both the direct costs of the care and associated costs of travel, lodging, and childcare,” as well as “patient navigators,” “linguistically appropriate and culturally competent legal assistance,” “the full spectrum of doula care,” and “escorts to support abortion seekers as they access care.”
Insurance companies would be required to cover abortions, and the Affordable Care Act’s provision that recipients must be ‘‘lawfully present in the United States” would be eliminated.
“In a truly just America, abortion care is treated as the fundamental healthcare that it is,” said Ms. Pressley at a Thursday press conference unveiling the bill. “Care is readily available for those who seek it; costs are covered; providers are trained and supported, and essential patient-centered services like abortion doula care, are the norm.”
The bill comes with Democrats decrying the Supreme Court’s decision one year ago in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade and sent abortion decision-making to the states.
Twenty-four states now have laws banning most abortions anywhere from conception to 12 weeks’ gestation. All states have exceptions to save the life of the mother.
The legislation also authorizes building more abortion clinics; increasing the number of abortion providers by doing more training; requiring healthcare providers that receive federal funds to cover abortions, and requiring universities to offer abortion pills.
Priority would be given to applicants in “medically underserved communities.”
Abortion care is safe.
Abortion care is necessary.
Abortion care is normal.
Abortion care is a human right.One year since the Supreme Court’s devastating #Dobbs decision, we’re not backing down in the fight for abortion justice. pic.twitter.com/hoH62Se7lr
— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) June 24, 2023
The bill has virtually no chance of passage, but the sweeping provisions offer a roadmap as to the goals of the Democratic Party’s far-left wing on abortion in the post-Roe era.
LifeNews said the bill was “too radical for most Americans, and it is unlikely to pass Congress,” given that Republicans control the House and Democrats have only a narrow majority in the Senate.
The pro-life site also argued that “expanding elective abortions does nothing to make pregnancy and childbirth safer for mothers. No women have died as a result of pro-life laws, and research suggests tens of thousands of unborn babies have been saved.”
The bill’s cosponsors include Democrat Reps. Veronica Escobar of Texas, Nikema Williams of Georgia, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Maxwell Frost of Florida.
Ms. Pressley, a member of the House’s leftist “squad,” also called for repealing the Hyde Amendment and passing the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would legalize abortion nationwide and prohibit restrictions on procedures.
