WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) spoke on Wednesday at a U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on reproductive care and the threats to women’s health in a post-Roe America.

Murphy highlighted the hypocrisy of states implementing a policy of forced pregnancy while failing to provide meaningful support to women and families: “In states across this country that have imposed trigger laws and some of the most intense restrictions on abortion, there also tend to be the fewest services available for women and families. Run through the list of states that are in the midst of criminalizing abortion, and you will run into states that have refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, leaving women and families without access to the basic health care that is necessary to raise a child today.

Murphy continued: “Survey the states that have had, on the books, these trigger laws, and you will find states that have not passed any meaningful family leave or medical leave legislation, leaving parents with no option but to have a baby and to immediately go back to work to be able to afford that health care that isn't being paid for because of the lack of Medicaid expansion.”

On Republican state legislatures’ latest efforts to restrict reproductive freedom, Murphy said: “Listen, this is all about putting government in a position of control over women and their bodies. But apparently, it's not enough to tell women when they can bear a child. It's not enough to dictate to women when and how they can access health care. Now, we're going to also dictate to women where they can travel to get health care. Because all throughout the country, there are state legislatures getting ready to take up pieces of legislation that would eliminate the ability of individuals—in this case, women—to be able to travel where they want for healthcare in this country. Just another mechanism of controlling the decisions that women make.”

Murphy co-sponsored the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act of 2022, which will protect the rights of Americans to cross state lines to receive abortion care.

You can read Murphy’s full exchange with Dr. Jamila Taylor, Director of Health Care Reform and Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation, and Dr. Kristyn Brandi, Board Chair for Physicians for Reproductive Health, below:

MURPHY: “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you all for your testimony today and thank you for this hearing.

“In states across this country that have imposed trigger laws and some of the most intense restrictions on abortion, there also tend to be the fewest services available for women and families. Run through the list of states that are in the midst of criminalizing abortion, and you will run into states that have refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, leaving women and families without access to the basic health care that is necessary to raise a child today. Survey the states that have had, on the books, these trigger laws, and you will find states that have not passed any meaningful family leave or medical leave legislation, leaving parents with no option but to have a baby and to immediately go back to work to be able to afford that health care that isn't being paid for because of the lack of Medicaid expansion.

“Dr. Taylor, could you just talk for a second about the consequence of a policy of forced pregnancy in states that provide no meaningful access to health care and parental leave—the kind of policies that you would think states that are so interested in more pregnancies and more pregnancies would have invested in—what's the consequence of that?”

TAYLOR: “Sure, absolutely. I think the consequences that we leave moms and their families out to dry.

“You know, as you mentioned, it's so essential for a family to have access to affordable childcare, affordable health care, access to nutritious foods. I mean, we can run down the list, and, unfortunately, in these states that are also banning abortion, they don't have those supports available to these families. I think another point to lift up here, too, is that these are all situations that are going to disproportionately impact women of color who are already experiencing challenges, whether it's in terms of their financial outlook, housing, insecurity, poverty. And I think the conversation around providing services or providing diapers, or maybe even formula—if you can get your hands on it in this moment—temporarily is not going to do anything to support those families over the long term.”

MURPHY: “Dr. Brandi, I wanted to talk to you about another issue, an issue that the Senate may take up later this week.

“Listen, this is all about putting government in a position of control over women and their bodies. But apparently, it's not enough to tell women when they can bear a child. It's not enough to dictate to women when and how they can access health care. Now, we're going to also dictate to women where they can travel to get health care. Because all throughout the country, there are state legislatures getting ready to take up pieces of legislation that would eliminate the ability of individuals—in this case, women—to be able to travel where they want for healthcare in this country. Just another mechanism of controlling the decisions that women make. Government being in charge. One piece of legislation in Missouri contemplates legal liability for anyone involved in interstate healthcare travel, including the person who works at the call center to help set up your appointment [who] would now be legally liable, would potentially be dragged into court [and] have to hire up lawyers in order to protect themselves.

“So, I'm interested in your perspective as a provider: this world that we're entering into, in which all of a sudden, not only are you not going to be able to travel across state lines to obtain health care, but that everybody in the business of healthcare is now going to have to shut their doors to people who simply want to travel 10 miles from one state to another in order to get healthcare. What does that world look like?”

BRANDI: “Thank you for the question, Senator. I think it's a really scary world, what that potentially will look like, and we’re already seeing now that people are trying to travel to get care. I don't want to be checking people's licenses to confirm their address and know where they come from before I can intervene.

“Doctors [and] health care providers just want to do our jobs. We just want to take care of people, whoever shows up at our door. But at the same time, we want to make sure that our clinics and our staff are protected from these arbitrary laws that are trying to chill our ability to provide healthcare to people. And I'm also just heartbroken that people have to leave their communities to get the care that they need, not just for those people that are traveling thousands of miles if they can even travel at all, but also for my friends [and] my colleagues that are out of jobs right now. They have the skills; they have the medicines to be able to take care of people in their communities and are not allowed to. All of that is heartbreaking. And that's all not how healthcare should work.”

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