Americans United Supports The Women’s Health Protection Act, Which Protects Both Religious And Reproductive Freedom

Americans United for Separation of Church and State President and CEO Rachel Laser issued the following statement today in support of the introduction of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives. WHPA would protect abortion access across the country, despite the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, by creating a statutory right for health care providers to provide abortion care, and a right for their patients to receive that care, free from bans and restrictions that impede access.

“Abortion is a civil and human right that is essential to our health, equality and freedom. But since the ultra-conservative bloc of the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe last year, religious extremists and their lawmaker allies have banned or heavily restricted abortion in more than two dozen states – forcing all of us to live by their narrow beliefs and curtailing the rights and freedoms of millions of Americans. The harm caused by abortion bans and restrictions falls hardest on Black, indigenous and other people of color working to make ends meet.

“We need the Women’s Health Protection Act: It will protect the right to access abortion, free from restrictions and bans, nationwide. It will safeguard both religious freedom and reproductive freedom by ensuring all of us can make our own decisions about our own bodies based on our own beliefs. Abortion bans are a violation of the separation of church and state because they impose one narrow religious belief on all of us. That’s why Americans United is in court on behalf of 14 clergy fighting abortion bans in Missouri. We need a national recommitment to the separation of church and state, which shields our shared laws from the influence of any one religion and frees us to come together as equals and build a stronger democracy.”

More information about the lawsuit Rev. Traci Blackmon v. State of Missouri is available here.