WASHINGTON - Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, issued the following statement in response to Senator Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All Act:

“Senator Sanders’ healthcare bill ends the debate and makes clear that reproductive healthcare, including abortion services, is a fundamental right—not just a privilege for the wealthy. The senator’s work to draft this legislation is a groundbreaking advancement for a simple truth: we will never solve our healthcare crisis until women have full access to reproductive services. The introduction of this bill is the culmination of significant work led by women of color, who suffer the most when contraception and abortion care are offered on a pay-to-play basis.

“At a time when Donald Trump and the GOP obsess over rolling back coverage, and after decades of poor women and women of color not having access to that coverage, this bill finally focuses on expanding access to basic care like abortion and birth control. This plan ensures that women can access birth control and maternity care regardless of their boss’s opinion, while also eliminating the devastating abortion coverage restrictions that cause scores of women to be treated as lesser than their peers.

“Measures like this are key to creating a world where women are full partners in society and able to determine our own futures. We look forward to working with Senator Sanders, as well as his cosponsors Senators Gillibrand, Warren, Harris, Hirono, Baldwin, Shaheen, Booker, Franken, Heinrich, Leahy, Markey, Blumenthal, Schatz, Merkley, Udall, and Whitehouse, to build on this work.”

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