Bill Text (PDF)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Chair of the Abortion Rights and Access Task Force of the Pro-Choice Caucus, and Congresswomen Barbara Lee (CA-13), Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) led a group of 131 Democratic members in reintroducing the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act or the EACH Act. A companion bill was also introduced in the U.S. Senate, led by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI).

This legislation would repeal the discriminatory Hyde Amendment, which disproportionately affects low-income women and women of color. The EACH Act would ensure that all women, regardless of income, insurance or zip code, can make personal reproductive health care decisions without interference from politicians.

“Reproductive justice has always been a racial and economic justice issue, and we must hold our ground and stand in our power,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “That means legislating reproductive justice, because with this anti-choice majority on the Supreme Court continuing to threaten our bodily autonomy, we can’t let up in our fight to protect the right to abortion care for all people. The EACH Act is necessary legislation that meets the moment by repealing the racist and discriminatory Hyde Amendment—which disproportionately impacts Black and brown people—and affirming the right of everyone to make personal reproductive health care decisions without political interference. I am grateful to my colleagues and to our allies at All Above All for their partnership on this critical bill.”

“As we continue to fight a pandemic and economic crisis that has pushed millions into poverty and strained out public health system, it is more important than ever that we work to make reproductive health care accessible regardless of income or zip code,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Co-Chair of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus. “For too long, the Hyde Amendment has restricted essential reproductive health services, especially for low-income communities and communities of color. I am proud to reintroduce the EACH Act to finally put an end to this discriminatory policy and ensure that everyone can feel empowered to make critical decisions over their own health and wellbeing, regardless of their financial situation.” 

“Just because abortion is legal in this country doesn’t mean it’s accessible to everyone,” said Rep. DeGette. “For far too many people, lack of insurance coverage presents an insurmountable barrier to accessing the abortion care they need. This legislation will end the Hyde Amendment and other abortion coverage bans to finally make reproductive care more accessible to all Americans.”

“The previous Administration bent over backwards to erase reproductive rights for women,” said Rep. Schakowsky. “The EACH Woman Act takes a giant and important leap forward and I am proud to once again introduce legislation that will allow every woman to make her own health care decisions regardless of her income, her race, where she works, or how she gets her insurance,” said Rep. Schakowsky. “The Hyde Amendment has impacted millions of women across this nation for far too long. I am glad to join my colleagues in saying enough is enough. Comprehensive health care is a human right, and the EACH Woman Act affirms that promise.”  

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed a person’s constitutional right to make their own reproductive decisions, making clear that the government has no place getting in between individuals and their doctors,” said Sen. Duckworth. “But for decades, conservative lawmakers have worked to whittle down that constitutionally-protected right to the point where it’s now effectively inaccessible for low-income people who rely on Medicaid, for servicemembers and for millions more Americans nationwide. The Supreme Court didn’t protect these rights only for the wealthy few, and they didn’t say only for those who live in certain states. That kind of discrimination is not right, not fair and it’s certainly not equal—so I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the EACH Act so that every person in this country has equal access to their constitutionally-protected rights, no matter income, race or zip code.”  

“Today, millions of women who depend on Medicaid and other government-sponsored health plans have the right to an abortion in name only—but not in practice. Despite Roe v. Wade affirming the constitutional right to abortion, federal coverage restrictions have made abortion accessible only to those with means. This is absolutely unacceptable—and it’s having a devastating impact on women of color, women with low-incomes, and immigrants,” said Senator Murray. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the EACH Act, to finally end harmful abortion coverage restrictions and address the racial and economic inequities that prevent so many patients from getting the reproductive health care they need.”

“Health insurance or income shouldn’t decide any woman’s ability to access the health care she needs—including abortion. But the reality for too many women—particularly for lower-income women, immigrants, young women, and women of color—is that this care is out of reach,” said Senator Hirono. “I join Senators Duckworth, Murray, and other colleagues to introduce the EACH Act, which repeals the Hyde Amendment, because it’s past time to remove this barrier to women accessing the reproductive care they need and making sure that women can equally access their constitutionally-protected right to abortion care.”

For the full text of the bill, click here.   

This legislation has been endorsed by: All Above All, ACCESS Reproductive Justice, Advocates for Youth, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American Jewish World Service, American Medical Student Association, Black Women’s Health Imperative, Carafem, Catholics for Choice, Center for American Progress, Center for Reproductive Rights, CHANGE (Center for Health & Gender Equity), Cobalt, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity & Reproductive Rights (COLOR), Forward Together Action, Global Justice Center, Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights (GRR!), Guttmacher Institute, Ibis Reproductive Health, If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, IPAS, Make It Work Nevada, Medical Students for Choice, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Abortion Federation, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), National Council of Jewish Women, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, National Health Law Program, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, National Network of Abortion Funds, National Organization for Women (NOW), Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center, National Women’s Health Network, New Orleans Abortion Fund, NM Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, PAI, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Institute, Power to Decide, Preterm, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, Silver State Voices, SisterReach, SisterSong: National Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Texas Equal Access Fund, The Women’s Centers: Atlanta Women’s Center, Cherry Hill Women’s Center, Delaware County Women’s Center, Hartford GYN Center, Philadelphia Women’s Center, The Womxn Project, UltraViolet, Union for Reform Judaism, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, We Testify, Women of Reform Judaism.

This legislation was also co-sponsored by Gwen Moore, Peter Welch, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Jackie Speier, Gerald E. Connolly, Nydia M. Velázquez, Al Lawson, Hank Johnson, Karen Bass, Andre’ Carson, Joyce Beatty, Betty McCollum, Haley Stevens, Alan Lowenthal,  Marilyn Strickland, Jerrold Nadler,  Sylvia R. Garcia,  Sara Jacobs, Brenda L. Lawrence, James P. McGovern, David Trone, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mark Takano, Andy Levin, Susan Wild, Suzan Del Bene, Grace Meng, Ruben Gallego, Kathy Castor, Yvette D. Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver II, Mondaire Jones, Sean Casten, Marcy Kaptur, Doris Matsui, Joe Neguse, Joe Morelle, Earl Blumenauer, David N. Cicilline, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Katie Porter, Cori Bush, Donald M. Payne, Jr., Jimmy Panetta, Ritchie Torres,  Adriano Espaillat,  Julia Brownley, Tom Malinowski,  Seth Moulton, Danny K. Davis, Carolyn B. Maloney, Nikema Williams, Chellie Pingree,  Lois Frankel,  Ted W. Lieu, Alcee L. Hastings, Jahana Hayes, Suzanne Bonamici, Kim Schrier, M.D., Brian Higgins, Peter A. DeFazio, Deborah Ross, Grace F. Napolitano, Albio Sires, Ted Deutch, Paul D. Tonko, Norma J. Torres, Lauren Underwood, Dean Phillips, Steve Cohen, Jared Huffman, Mark Pocan, Lori Trahan, Judy Chu, Rosa L. DeLauro, Salud Carbajal, Katherine Clark, Ann McLane Kuster, Lizzie Fletcher, Jason Crow, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Debbie Wasserman, Schultz Ed Case, Linda T. Sanchez, John Sarbanes, Sean Patrick Maloney, Kathy Manning, Mike Levin, Jake Auchincloss, Mike Quigley, Kaialiʻi Kahele, Raúl M. Grijalva, Zoe Lofgren, Jimmy Gomez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Adam B. Schiff, Dwight Evans, Brad Sherman, Jim Himes, Marie Newman, Dina Titus, Scott H. Peters, Adam Smith, Jesús G. “Chuy”,  García Bill Foster,  Mikie Sherrill, Jerry McNerney, Charlie Crist, Mike Thompson, Alma Adams, Rashida Tlaib, Frank Pallone, Jr., Gregory Meeks, David E. Price, Rick Larsen, Tim Ryan, Lucy McBath, Pramila Jayapal, Dan Kildee, Jamie Raskin, Mark DeSaulnier, Anthony G. Brown, Frederica S. Wilson, Bradley Schneider, William R. Keating, Ami Bera, Joaquin Castro, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Derek Kilmer, and Eddie Bernice Johnson.

As Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’s Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, Congresswoman Pressley has fought tirelessly to protect comprehensive reproductive health care for all, including abortion care.

Over the course of her first term serving in Congress, Congresswoman Pressley has filed amendments every year to repeal Hyde from annual Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bills and in July published a Medium post on the importance of doing so.

In May, she led more than 155 Members of Congress in calling on House Democratic leadership to ensure that any future COVID-19 relief packages rejected Republican efforts to use the public health crisis to diminish abortion access.

In May 2019, she led more than 100 colleagues in introducing H.Con.Res.40, a resolution reaffirming the House of Representative’s support for Roe v. Wade. In June 2019, Rep. Pressley introduced H.R. 3296, the Affordability is Access Act, to make oral contraception available without a prescription.

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