Congressman Dan Goldman Protects Doctors Who Perform Safe Abortion
Laws Passed in Republican-Controlled States Seeking to Ban Out-of-State Travel for Abortion Criminalize Doctors in Abortion Legal States
Read the Bill Here
Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08), Congressman Ami Bera (CA-06), and Congressman Raul Ruiz (CA-25) in introducing the ‘Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act,’ to protect doctors who are performing safe abortions in states where abortions are legal. This legislation would prohibit federal funding from being used to carry out litigation against health care providers performing abortions and would fund programs to provide them with legal assistance.
The ‘Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act’ follows multiple states passing laws that target, and in some instances, ban out-of-state travel for abortion care. These same laws seek to criminalize doctors in states where abortion is legal who perform these abortions.
“Doctors should be focused on providing the best care they can for their patients – not worried about facing a lawsuit or going to jail,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “By criminalizing health care, Republican-led legislatures are attempting to find yet another way to exert control over women and their reproductive freedoms. Congress must ensure that doctors are able to carry out their duties and provide safe, legal health care without fear of politicized retribution.”
The Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act will ensure that providers in states where abortion remains legal are protected from any efforts to restrict their practice or create uncertainty about their legal liability. Specifically, the bill would:
Protect health care providers in states where abortion is legal from laws that try to prevent them from providing reproductive health care services or make them liable for providing those services to patients from any other state
Prohibit any federal funds from being used to pursue legal cases against individuals who access legal reproductive health care services or against health care providers in states where abortion is legal
Create a new grant program at the Department of Justice to fund legal assistance or legal education for reproductive health care service providers
Create a new grant program at the Department of Health and Human Services to support health care providers in obtaining physical, cyber, or data privacy security upgrades necessary to protect their practice and patients
Protect reproductive health care providers from being denied professional liability insurance coverage because of legal services offered to patients
Congressman Dan Goldman is committed to protecting abortion access across the country.
Earlier this week, Goldman announced his intent to introduce the ‘Abortion Care Awareness Act,’ the first bill he is set to introduce in 2024. Goldman will be introducing this bill alongside Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30). This bill would increase access to medically accurate information about abortion, specifically medication abortion. Additionally, the ‘Abortion Care Awareness Act’ would ensure people have access to accurate information about where and how to obtain abortion services across the country, how to avoid anti-abortion centers intended to deceive patients, and how to identify misinformation about abortion care.
In March of 2023, the Congressman cosponsored the ‘Women’s Health Protection Act,’ which establishes a federal right for healthcare professionals to provide abortion care and the right for their patients to receive care, free from bans and medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion care. The ‘Women’s Health Protection Act’ codifies and expands upon the rights established in Roe v. Wade.
Congressman Goldman is a member of the Pro-Choice Caucus.
###