Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act Introduced in Congress

US Rep Pat Ryan Introduces First Bill For Access to Abortion

On Sept. 22, nine days after being sworn in as congressman, Ryan, D-Gardiner, introduced the “Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act.”

The bill would pre-empt state laws that prohibit women from accessing abortion medication through telehealth and would require a report to Congress on additional ways to expand access to reproductive health care.

“A woman’s right to choose is one of this country’s foundational freedoms, and there is no place for government interference in these private medical decisions, yet extremist state lawmakers are restricting access to FDA-approved abortion medication and even threatening to open Americans’ mail to stop the delivery of doctor-prescribed healthcare services,” Ryan said in a press release announcing the measure. “This legislation would ensure that women across the country can access this safe and effective medical treatment.”***

Since January, legislators in at least 20 states have proposed bills that would restrict or ban access to those abortion pills, which were approved more than two decades ago by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as bills that would require women to obtain those medications from a doctor in person