Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) issued the statement below following the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that will allow HB 481 to go into effect in Georgia, further restricting a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.

“Today’s ruling is yet another consequence of the dangerous decision by the United States Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow politicians to interfere in these personal medical decisions. While we may grieve this ruling, we can’t give into despair. Reproductive health care is health care. As a champion for health care and health equity, and as a voice for Georgia in the Senate, I’ll never back away from the fight to restore women’s right to get the health care they need, when and where they need it.”

Senator Warnock is a stalwart champion of protecting a women’s right to choose, and has taken the following steps to protect reproductive health care access for women in Georgia:

·         Immediately following the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, Senator Reverend Warnock called on President Biden to take executive action to protect women’s reproductive rights. Following his letter, President Biden released an executive order directing the Health and Human Services Department to explore every federal avenue available for protecting women’s access to reproductive health care.

·         Senator Reverend Warnock has worked to cement Roe v. Wade in federal law by cosponsoring and voting to advance the Women’s Health Reproduction Act.

·         Also, Senator Reverend Warnock is working to ensure that Georgia women can continue exercising their Constitutional right to travel across state lines, and that Georgia residents remain free to help women do so, by cosponsoring the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act. On July 14, Washington Republicans blocked the legislation from receiving a vote on the Senate floor.

·         And, Senator Warnock has championed measures to promote maternal health, including cosponsoring the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act to provide access to comprehensive family planning and preventive health services.

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