Reproductive Rights

Where you live should never determine your access to reproductive healthcare. At a time when a woman’s right to choose is constantly challenged by draconian actions and legislation, we must continue fighting on behalf of all people for access to reproductive healthcare like emergency contraception and abortions, and establish comprehensive protections for pregnant workers. 

Abortion Access 

Women lost their fundamental right to make decisions about their reproductive healthcare when the far-right Supreme Court overturned Roe. For the first time in several generations, we will see women grow up in a world where they have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers.  

Any further decision to restrict access to abortion services would turn back the clock on providers, reinstate outdated and medically unnecessary restrictions on safe medical practices, and have grave repercussions for patients and providers across the country. 

Attacks on reproductive freedom are direct assaults on the most vulnerable members of our communities. According to experts, those who live in states more likely to ban abortion will be most affected by the Dobbs decision. Abortion is healthcare, and I will always support initiatives seeking to protect that fundamental right.  

In Ohio, a 6-week abortion ban was slated to take effect following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision due to the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 23 in 2019. Luckily, an Ohio judge temporarily blocked the state law, and there will be no change in the legal status of abortions up to 22 weeks as litigation continues. If this statewide ban went into effect, communities that have experienced generations of disinvestment would undoubtedly have been the most impacted. 

The deceptive, redundant bills passed by the House majority so far in the 118th Congress are the newest weapons in the GOP’s arsenal to erode reproductive healthcare rights. These draconian abortion bans and restrictions exacerbate health disparities in communities of color. 

In the aftermath of the April 2023 Texas court decision seeking to rescind access to the abortion drug Mifepristone, I felt it was my moral duty to join 240 Congressional Dems in filing an amicus brief to ensure Mifepristone remains accessible. 

I am a cosponsor of the 2023 Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA)  to ensure that abortion is accessible for everyone, everywhere. 

As a leader in the Democratic Women’s Caucus and member of the Pro-Choice Caucus, I will continue to support legislation prohibiting government restriction of access to abortion services. 

Protecting Pregnant Persons 

In Cuyahoga County, Black women are up to three times more likely than white women to die of causes related to childbirth. In order to address this crisis, I will continue to voice my support for programs like the Cleveland Clinic's Initiative to improve infant and maternal health and and University Hospitals’ Rainbow Center for Women & Children, First Year Cleveland, and CenteringPregnancy.

In the 117th Congress, House Democrats overcame Republican opposition to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, to ensure pregnant workers get the accommodations they need to ensure they are not forced to make an impossible choice between a healthy pregnancy and their job. House Democrats also passed the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, to ensure breastfeeding moms get the time and privacy they need to pump at work. 

This Congress, I remain committed to supporting legislation that protects our pregnant workers and mothers and will advocate for federal and community-based solutions to the Black maternal mortality crisis.