Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra visited Planned Parenthood clinics in Illinois and Missouri on June 23, a year after the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
On the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court ruling, Becerra met with Planned Parenthood staff in St. Louis and Fairview Heights, Illinois, according to an HHS press release. He also reflected on what it was like to be at the same clinic he was a year ago when the Roe v. Wade decision was announced.
“Yesterday, I returned to Missouri – one of the first states to pass an abortion ban after Roe was overturned – and revisited that same clinic,” Becerra said in the release. “We haven’t forgotten about the women and providers who were affected in Missouri and all the other states with abortion bans.”
When the decision overturning Roe v. Wade came down, Becerra said he saw providers turning away patients “because they were afraid of what might happen if they offered even basic reproductive care.”
“In the past year, we have seen how the state you live in can block your ability to access care,” Becerra said. “Women seeking reproductive health care, including abortion care, find themselves living in care deserts, and some have had to travel thousands of miles to access basic services. We have heard the tragic cases of women being denied life-saving care because of the chaos and fear that Dobbs has created."
The secretary said the Biden administration is committed to protecting women’s access to reproductive healthcare.
“Our daughters shouldn’t grow up in an America where they have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers,” he said. “Since the Dobbs decision, we have worked across the federal government to promote access, information, and privacy for those seeking reproductive health care, including abortion care. But we know that real and lasting progress often requires Congress to act. I urge Congress to make the protections of Roe federal law.”
In the wake of the Dobbs decision, the Department of Health and Human Services has worked to clarify protections for birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act, protect medical privacy, including giving patients the power to safeguard their personal health data on mobile devices, apps, and other platforms, the release stated. The Department also reaffirmed its commitment to protect the right to abortion care in emergency settings under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
