FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 11, 2023

Contact: media@iwpr.org

Statement from C. Nicole Mason, President and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research on today’s anti-abortion vote in the US House of Representatives:

Washington, D.C. — Today’s vote in the House of Representatives is dangerous, disingenuous, and undermines women’s access to the full range of reproductive healthcare options, including abortion care. Instead of acting to ensure that working women and their families have access to paid sick and family leave, affordable childcare, and a viable safety net, they are working to pass additional restrictions that limit the freedom of women to make their own decisions about their health, bodies, and lives. Today’s so-called “Born Alive” bill is legislation based on a fictional problem, but, if enacted, it would have very real consequences for women and their families.

Efforts to restrict abortion have devastating and far-reaching effects – on individuals, families, and communities. IWPR’s groundbreaking research published in the Reproductive Rights Index, produced as part of IWPR’s Status of Women in the States Initiative, provides a data-driven look at how drastically access to reproductive health care varies by location – and puts a numerical value on some of the consequences of restrictive abortion policies. Even before the most recent spate of restrictions following the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, abortion bans cost state economies billions of dollars.

IWPR remains committed to working with Congress and our partners to ensure women have access to the full range of reproductive health care services, including abortion care.