Reproductive Freedom & Maternal Health

Self-determination, personal choice, and privacy are foundational constitutional rights. Women will never have full personal and economic freedom until we restore the right to abortion access. I have always opposed abortion bans and restrictions. When I served in the Texas House of Representatives, Texas passed the most extreme abortion ban in the nation. Just as cautioned, the ban led to trauma and even death for many Texas women. When the Dobbs case reached the Supreme Court, I joined state lawmakers from across the south to file an amicus brief urging the court not to overturn Roe v. Wade. I also co-authored the bill in the Texas House to expand postpartum Medicaid for new mothers. My approach to reproductive freedom follows science, medicine, and common sense. These decisions ought to be made by the patients and their trusted physicians, actual experts. I want Texans to be able to access the care they deserve in their community – not be forced to flee the state if they can afford to or remain pregnant against their wishes if they cannot. It’s no coincidence that Texas has a maternal mortality and morbidity crisis, with Black women at the greatest risk of death during childbirth. Decades of abortion restrictions and defunding reproductive healthcare have worsened healthcare outcomes for ALL Texans.

Senate Priorities

In the US Senate, I will fight for maternal health and our reproductive freedom by:

Requiring insurance to cover the full costs related to perinatal care.
Establishing a national Maternal Mortality & Morbidity Review Committee to study this issue and propose data-driven solutions that fit the specific needs of each community and region.
Lift restrictions on abortion care.
Boost funding and access to reproductive health screenings, well-women exams, and preventative care.
Codifying the protections in Roe v. Wade and Casey as the floor for protecting our rights.
Protecting access to mifepristone, which is proven to be safer than aspirin.
Prohibiting states from requiring medically inaccurate information and medically unnecessary restrictions to access abortion care.
Providing free educational resources, prenatal vitamins, and other practical support services to young pregnant women.
Opposing tax dollars going to fraudulent and misleading “Crisis Pregnancy Centers”
Supporting federal funding for community-and-evidence-based nonprofits providing reproductive healthcare and education.
Pushing for a carveout in the filibuster for reproductive justice.
Opposing restrictions on contraception, stem cell research, or in-vitro fertilization (IVF)
Opposing the Hyde Amendment to allow those on Medicare, Medicaid, and health insurance plans for military servicemembers, veterans, and federal employees to cover costs related to abortion.

My Work in the United States Congress

As Republicans continue to cause problems and strip our reproductive rights, I’ve continuously worked on policy solutions to circumvent their attacks. Here are some bills I’m working on that I hope to see across the finish line in the US Senate:

The Abortion Care Awareness Act to enhance access to medically accurate abortion related health services.
The Right to Contraception Act to safeguard your access and protect health care providers who provide contraceptives or related information.
The Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation (SAD) Act to prohibit deceptive advertising for reproductive health services—such as “crisis pregnancy centers”
The Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act to establish leave policies of the Armed Forces for a member to seek an abortion.
The Access to Family Building Act to codify a federal right to access IVF and other assisted reproduction technologies.
The My Body, My Data Act to ensure the government, or Big Tech, isn’t tracking your personal reproductive and sexual health information, protecting your privacy in a digital age—especially in Texas.
The Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act to help women who have to flee states like Texas in order to access live saving care
The Reproductive Freedom for Veterans Act to ensure veterans can access abortion care, counseling, and medication through the VA