Dear Member of the House,

I write to urge you to vote NO on H.R. 36, the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.” If passed, H.R. 36 would ban abortion 20 weeks after fertilization, with an extraordinarily narrow exception for survivors of rape and incest or “to save the life of the pregnant woman.”  

Reproductive justice will be attained when all people have the economic, social, and political power and means to make decisions about their bodies, sexuality, health, and family, with dignity and self-determination.

H.R. 36 imposes medically unnecessary and exceptionally onerous requirements on people seeking abortion care, undermining decades of legal precedent, and directly challenging Roe v. Wade.

H.R. 36 places a high burden on low-income people. Research shows that most low-income people pay for abortion care out of pocket. The time it takes to raise money to pay for a medical procedure and surrounding costs delays care. Nearly 60 percent of women who experienced a delay in obtaining an abortion cite finances as an issue.

H.R. 36 particularly imposes burdens on people of color. People of color are more likely to experience employment discrimination and be paid low wages, leading to high poverty rates. These factors mean that families of color are among the least likely to be able to afford out-of-pocket healthcare, whether for abortion services or any other type of care. Thus, existing federal bans on abortion coverage disproportionately affect people of color by forcing them to choose between necessary abortion care and putting food on the table.

H.R. 36 disproportionately impacts low-income people who live far from an abortion provider. Pregnant people forced to travel long distances and pay steep fees out-of-pocket to obtain abortion care must make additional arrangements for travel and childcare, increasing their costs and often further delaying the procedure. People who do not have the means to navigate this legislatively constructed obstacle course are forced to either continue a pregnancy to term or seek other means.

In order to truly support communities, we need policies that improve and expand—not limit—access to a full spectrum of healthcare, including abortion. Our communities thrive when everyone has the ability, resources, and support to make the healthcare decisions that are best for themselves and their families.

I strongly urge you to vote no on H.R. 36.