Advocates Continue To Push For Better Access To Abortions

Abortion rights advocates have announced a national effort to repeal state laws restricting abortions that they say impede on women’s rights.

Following Monday’s historic ruling knocking down a set of Texas abortion laws, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Wisconsin’s request for an appeal on a law that requires clinic doctors have hospital admitting privileges.

Now, Planned Parenthood will be working with other state’s legislatures to repeal similar laws. And the reproductive health group doesn’t plan to limit their repeal efforts to laws on admitting privileges, said Helene Krasnoff, senior director of public policy litigation and law for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

“The Court made it clear that regardless of the restriction, that facts matter, the law matters and that these laws can only stand when the benefits that those advancing them claim actually outweigh the effects on women regardless of the state law,” Krasnoff said.

The group has started working with legislators in eight states including Michigan, Missouri, Texas and Florida, Krasnoff said. The group is ready to go “state by state, legislature by legislature” to repeal all laws restricting access to abortions.

Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced she’s also working on ways to protect abortion rights from what she said is an influx of new laws.

“In the first three months of this calendar year, states have already seen the introduction of more than 400 measures restricting access to reproductive health care,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin reintroduced a bill last year, the Women’s Health Protection Act, that she said would prohibit laws that “impose burdensome requirements” for women seeking abortions.