US Senator and 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has called for overhauling federal law to ensure women continue to have access to abortion amid efforts in states like Alabama and Ohio to enact bans.
The issue of abortion has been thrust into the national dialogue after a series of states controlled by Republicans began passing legislation to enact hardline bans. Alabama signed into law on Wednesday the most drastic rollback yet.
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"This is a dark moment," Warren said.
"People are scared and angry. And they are right to be. But this isn't a moment to back down - it's time to fight back."
Warren is one of more than 20 Democrats vying for her party's nomination to challenge President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election.
Warren has distinguished herself in the field as the candidate with the most prolific series of policy proposals on a myriad of topics.
Warren said Congress should enact laws that reinforce the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalised abortion. A new law should go further to prohibit states from "interfering in the ability of a patient to access medical care, including abortion services, from a provider that offers them."
Warren also wants Congress to enact laws that invalidate state rules that have placed near-impossible regulations on abortion clinics.
She would also prohibit states from limiting access to the medications that are used to perform abortions.
Warren said Congress should require all health care insurance cover abortions. Republicans have pushed for the opposite, imposing rules that prohibited government-backed insurance from covering abortion services and trying to limit the ability of private insurers to do so.
Warren added Congress should go beyond abortion and also ensure access to birth control, comprehensive sex education and care for pregnant women.
"We must build a future that protects the right of all women to have children, the right of all women to not have children, and the right to bring children up in a safe and healthy environment," Warren said.
Reuters
