WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) released the following statement on the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade:
“Three years ago, the Dobbs decision ripped away reproductive freedom from millions of women and dragged our country backward. But Republicans’ efforts to control women’s bodies didn’t stop at abortion. Since then, they’ve launched an all-out assault on birth control, IVF, and other basic care that Americans count on to decide when and how to start a family.
“And now, the reckless budget bill they’re trying to jam through Congress would defund Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health providers, cutting off access to birth control, STI testing, and cancer screenings for millions of low-income Americans who don’t have anywhere else to go.
“Arizonans sent a clear message last November when they voted to protect the right to choose, but in too many states, politicians are still playing doctor and interfering in personal decisions they have no business making. That’s why we must pass strong federal protections to defend reproductive rights and restore reproductive control to women, not politicians.”
On the anniversary, Senator Gallego announced his support of four bills to defend reproductive health care nationwide:
- The Women’s Health Protection Actcreates federal rights for patients and providers to protect abortion access. The bill would prohibit states from imposing restrictions that jeopardize access to abortion earlier in pregnancy, including many of the state-level restrictions in place prior to Dobbs, such as waiting periods or requirements to provide medically inaccurate information. Later in pregnancy, states cannot limit access to abortion if it would jeopardize the life or health of the mother. The bill also protects the ability to travel out of state for an abortion, which has become increasingly common in recent years. Senator Gallego also supported this bill as a member of the House.
- The Right to Contraception Act would create a statutory right to obtain and use contraceptives and ensure health care providers have a right to provide contraceptives, contraception, and share information about this essential care. Senator Gallego also supported this bill as a member of the House.
- The Protect IVF Actwould establish a statutory right for an individual to choose to access, a provider to choose to provide and an insurer to choose to cover—without prohibition, limitation, interference or impediment—IVF services provided in accordance with ASRM professional guidelines.
- The My Body, My Data Act would block companies from collecting, using, retaining or disclosing information about someone’s reproductive health unless that data is essential to providing a requested service. The bill would also provide the highest level of protection for reproductive and sexual health data to protect women’s private medical information from being weaponized against them. Senator Gallego supported this bill as a member of the House.
Senator Gallego has been a tireless advocate for reproductive rights in Congress. Earlier this year, he urged Meta to protect free speech and ensure its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, do not hide or restrict important information about abortion access. In addition to supporting the Women’s Health Protection Act; My Body, My Data Act; and Right to Contraception Act in the House, Gallego backed the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act – which would advance abortion access and reproductive freedom and also repeal the Hyde Amendment – and voted to expand contraceptive coverage in the FY24 NDAA markup.
6/24/25