Restoring Reproductive Rights
As co-chair of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, Rep. DeGette is leading the fight to restore and expand Americans’ reproductive rights. Rep. DeGette believes deeply that every American – regardless of where they live, or how much money they make – should have access to the full range of reproductive services, including abortion care. That’s why she’s committed to restoring the protections that were in place under Roe v. Wade so that everyone can, once again, access the care they need.
Fighting for Reproductive Rights : An outspoken advocate for women’s right to reproductive care, DeGette is leading the effort in Congress to defend and expand Americans’ right to access abortion care. She is the co-author of the EACH Act, a key piece of legislation aimed at ending a longstanding provision in federal law, known as the Hyde Amendment, that prevents millions of low-income Americans from accessing abortion care. And she has fought tirelessly throughout her time in Congress to expand women’s access to birth control and family-planning services. Widely recognized among her colleagues as an expert on health care policy, DeGette successfully led an effort to rescind a Trump Administration rule that allowed American employers to refuse to provide birth-control coverage for their employees, and is working now to protect Americans’ right to access abortion medication.
Restoring Roe v. Wade : As co-chair of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, DeGette has been among a handful of lawmakers leading the fight to restore Roe v. Wade nationwide in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn it in 2022. She is a lead sponsor of a landmark piece of legislation – known as the Women’s Health Protection Act – that would restore the protections that were in place under Roe. In June 2023, as part of her ongoing efforts to ensure every American has access to abortion services, DeGette filed a unique legislative measure, known as a “discharge petition,” that could force the GOP-led House to bring the Women’s Health Protection Act up for a vote. Under House Rules, if a discharge petition garners the signatures of 218 members in the House, leadership is required to immediately bring the legislation up for consideration. More information on DeGette’s latest efforts to force a vote on this critical legislation is available here.]
Ending the Hyde Amendment: Rep. DeGette is a leading co-sponsor of legislation, known as the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage (EACH) Act, that would end a decades-long ban on abortion care coverage for millions of low-income Americans. Since 1976, the so-called Hyde Amendment has prohibited federally-funded health care programs, such as Medicaid, from providing coverage for abortion services. As a result, millions of low-income women in the U.S. who are unable to afford the full cost of the procedure are at risk of being denied the care they need. DeGette’s legislation would change that. By ending the Hyde Amendment’s ban on abortion care coverage for low-income Americans, it would make abortion services accessible to more women throughout the country. More information on the EACH Act is available here.]
Never Giving Up: To mark the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Rep. DeGette and Vice President Kamala Harris released the following joint video message to reaffirm their commitment to continuing their fight to restore every American’s right to reproductive care for as long as it takes.
