VIDEO: Hirono, Colleagues Rally with Servicemembers and Veterans to Defend Access to Reproductive Care Amid Republicans’ Continued Attacks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Republicans continue pushing to ban abortion nationwide and attack the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) historic action to provide abortion care for Veterans in certain circumstances, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, condemned Republicans’ barbaric efforts to restrict abortion. During a press conference with Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Senator Hirono reiterated her commitment to protecting reproductive rights for veterans and servicemembers so they can get the healthcare services they need when and where they need it. The lawmakers were also joined by members of #UniformAccess, a coalition of various advocacy groups for women Veterans.
“The battles we thought we had won, such as our right to control our own bodies, do not stay won—that’s why we are all here, because the assault on women’s health continues,” said Senator Hirono during the press conference. “Female veterans’, across our country, right to abortion care is under assault. And, as some of the other speakers mentioned, it matters—our advocacy, our pointing things out, our asking for action to be taken, works.”
Last week, Senator Hirono announced that, following a push she led as a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed in a legal opinion that VA has the legal authority to provide abortion services in cases of rape, incest, and the life or health of the patient. In July, Senator Hirono called upon the VA to take immediate administrative action to offer abortions and all abortion-related services to veterans and eligible dependents. Earlier this month, Senator Hirono also condemned Republican attacks on the Biden Administration’s landmark decision to allow the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to provide abortion care to veterans and their eligible dependents to protect the health and life of the woman and in cases of rape or incest.
A full livestream of the press conference can be found here.
A long-time champion for abortion access, Senator Hirono is committed to protecting the fundamental right to abortion care for all. In August, she introduced the Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act to protect doctors against Republicans’ non-stop attacks and ensure they can safely provide abortion care in states where it is still legal. She also led a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services urging them to make medication abortion more easily accessible. In July, Senator Hirono introduced the Right to Contraception Act, as well as the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act, to protect access to critical reproductive health care services, like birth control, and cancer screenings. She also introduced the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act of 2022, which clarifies that it is illegal for anti-choice states to limit travel for abortion services, and would empower impacted individuals to bring civil action against those who restrict a woman’s right to cross state lines to receive legal reproductive care.
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