Bennet Reintroduces Bill to Help Guarantee Abortion Coverage For Millions of Americans

DENVER, Colorado, April 6 -- Sen. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colorado, issued the following news release on April 5, 2023:

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) to reintroduce the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, a bicameral bill that would guarantee abortion coverage without restrictions for millions of Americans. The EACH Act ends the Hyde Amendment and lifts unjust abortion coverage restrictions for those who rely on Medicaid and other federal plans or programs.

"Without the protections of Roe v. Wade, millions of women no longer have the freedom to make choices about their health and future, and this burden falls hardest on women of color and low-income families," said Bennet. "This bill ends archaic federal restrictions and expands coverage of reproductive health services so more Americans can get the care they need, regardless of where they live or how much they earn."

"Every woman in every state has a right to access the reproductive healthcare she needs--and government has no place getting in the way of that right," said Duckworth. "With Roe v. Wade thrown out by the Supreme Court, Congress must take immediate action to help strengthen access to abortion coverage for low-income Americans, servicemembers and millions more--no matter their income, race or zip code. Today, I'm proud to be joined by my colleagues in re-introducing the EACH Act so we can do just that."

"Federal coverage restrictions have long put abortion care out of reach for patients with the tightest budgets. In the wake of a catastrophic Dobbs decision that ushered in extreme Republican abortion bans stripping tens of millions of women of their reproductive rights, we need to keep working to ensure that no one's ability to get the abortion care they need depends on the zip code they live in or the money sitting in their bank account," said Murray. "That's why I'm proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing the EACH Act to do away with harmful abortion coverage restrictions that disproportionately prevent women of color, women with low-incomes, and immigrant women from being able to get the abortion care they need."

"Everyone deserves the fundamental right to access the health care they need, regardless of their income or type of health insurance," said Hirono. "For too long, the antiquated Hyde Amendment has prevented people across our country from accessing abortion care, disproportionately impacting people with low incomes, people of color, and immigrants. As we work to protect and strengthen access to reproductive care, it's past time we end the Hyde Amendment. I am glad to join Senators Duckworth and Murray in reintroducing the EACH Act to help end unjust restrictions on abortion access and help ensure people can access the care they need."

Today, abortion coverage restrictions like the Hyde Amendment impact millions of Americans -- especially those struggling to make ends meet, people of color, young people, and immigrants. These harmful policies make it harder, if not impossible, for patients to afford an abortion or find a local provider -- denying millions of patients their reproductive rights. Recent polling data also show that 62 percent of voters support lifting federal abortion coverage restrictions and believe Medicaid should cover abortion.

This legislation is supported by 85 organizations, including the Women's Lobby of Colorado, the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity & Reproductive Rights (COLOR), and ProgressNow Colorado.

In addition to Bennet, Duckworth, Murray, and Hirono, this bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).

The text of the bill is available HERE (https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/4/3/438130bd-16b5-4238-91e7-1e75aea97976/56F00CE769296968DC8B62869EBA3F7C.23.03.29-each-act-bai23131.pdf).

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Original text here: https://www.bennet.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2023/4/bennet-reintroduces-bill-to-help-guarantee-abortion-coverage-for-millions-of-americans