Two Years After Dobbs, Hirono Joins Colleagues in Releasing Report On Nationwide Impact of Abortion Bans

~ In new interviews and discussions with more than 80 doctors, educators, and advocates across the country, dire post-Dobbs trends emerge: Longer wait times, onerous travel, worsening health care deserts, a thinning workforce pipeline, & harrowing cases of patients airlifted out of state ~

WASHINGTON, DC – Two years after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 14 other women Democratic senators in releasing a new report, Two Years Post-Dobbs: The Nationwide Impacts of Abortion Bans. The report details how the Dobbs decision is harming women’s health care in states across the U.S.—whether those states have abortion bans or not.

“This report illustrates the state of our strained reproductive health care system and the nationwide impact of Republicans’ extremist ideological agenda to exert power and control over women’s bodies,” said Senator Hirono. “Two years after the Supreme Court’s devastating Dobbs decision, women continue to face attacks on their fundamental reproductive rights—from being denied life-saving emergency care to being forced to travel long distances for abortion care—and I will continue fighting for reproductive freedom for all.”

The report is based on interviews and discussions with more than 80 health care providers and advocates from across the country. These front-line workers describe how overturning Roe v. Wade has harmed care for women across America. The key findings of the report include that:

1. Women are being denied emergency health care. In some cases of women requiring emergency abortion care, patients are being airlifted to protective states to receive the care they need.
2. Patients are traveling far distances for the abortion care they need. The report contains new data on how Florida’s abortion ban is burdening patients across the South, forcing some to travel as far as Illinois for care.
3. Health care workers are avoiding states with abortion bans, contributing to health care deserts throughout the country. The report also details the effects on health care providers, as OB/GYNs and other health care providers are fleeing abortion ban states, and some medical students are refusing to train in them.

In addition to Senators Hirono, Cantwell, and Schumer, the report was also released by Senators Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH).

A long-time champion for abortion access, Senator Hirono is committed to protecting the fundamental right to reproductive health care for all. This week, Senator Hirono voted to advance the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act, legislation that expresses support for women’s reproductive freedom and protecting access to reproductive health care. The vote failed on the Senate floor with a final tally of 49-44—with nearly every Republican voting against it. Prior to the vote, Senator Hirono delivered a speech in which she highlighted the horrifying consequences of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision for women across the country. Last month, Senator Hirono released a statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Idaho, a case concerning the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). Last month, Senator Hirono also voted in support of the Right to IVF Act, legislation to protect the right to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) services, as well as expand insurance coverage of IVF treatment for those who struggle with infertility. Prior to the vote—which failed on the Senate floor, with only two Republicans voting to advance it—Senator Hirono delivered a speech blasting Republicans for blocking IVF protection bills twice this year and highlighted that IVF treatment has been provided safely for over 45 years. 

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