Statement of The Very Reverend Katherine Ragsdale, Interim President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF), on the Women’s Health Protection Act being introduced in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives:
Amidst a deluge of politically-motivated attacks on reproductive health care — and especially abortion care — the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) offers a ray of reason. Now more than ever, the WHPA is needed to ensure that all women have access to the comprehensive health they need, free from government interference.
All health care should be grounded in evidence-based, medical best practices—not the personal ideology or personal agenda of politicians. As the professional association of abortion providers, we set the standards for quality abortion care. Our Clinical Policy Guidelines (CPGs) are evidence-based guidelines for abortion providers looking to provide high-quality, patient-centered abortion care. Unlike the medically-unnecessary, politically-motivated anti-abortion laws WHPA would end, our CPGs are regularly updated based on the most-recently-available research.
We applaud the sponsors of WHPA for listening to the overwhelming outrage of Americans after this most-recent round of politically-motivated attacks on abortion care. It is time for politicians to stop interfering and allow the real health care experts to do their jobs.
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The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers. Our members include individuals, private and non-profit clinics, Planned Parenthood affiliates, women’s health centers, physicians’ offices, and hospitals who together care for approximately half the women who choose abortion in the U.S. and Canada each year. Our members also include public hospitals and both public and private clinics in Mexico City and private clinics in Colombia.