Thompson, Reproductive Care Professionals Hold Roundtable on Importance of Protecting Women's Rights

Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05), reproductive rights professionals, and local leaders held a roundtable in Sonoma County to discuss the importance of defending reproductive rights as they come under increasing threat following the extreme Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision.

"Reproductive care decisions should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor, her family, and her faith," said Thompson. "The extreme decision in Dobbs v. Jackson has stripped away a nearly 50-year precedent, taking away Americans' freedom to make their own health care decisions. Thank you to the health care professionals and local leaders who met with me today for their efforts to expand care and ensure that those in need of reproductive care have access to the services they deserve."

Rep. Thompson was joined by Rohnert Park Mayor Jackie Elward, Gabriela Bernal, Santa Rosa Community Health Center, Margaret Martinez Franks, Planned Parenthood, Cheryl Johnson, Sonoma Valley Community Health Center, Isabel Lopez, Commissioner, Human Rights Commission, Joanne M. Brown, Commissioner, Status of Women, Margaret Fishman, Santa Rosa Junior College Trustee, and Dr. Rebecca Katz, Petaluma Health Center.

To protect access to reproductive care, Rep. Thompson has voted for:

• The Women's Health Protection Act – which would cement in law access to reproductive health care for everyone across America, regardless of which state they live in.
• The Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act – legislation stopping Republicans from criminalizing, fining or suing women who exercise their constitutional right to travel across state lines to obtain an abortion.
• The Right to Contraception Act – legislation that would guarantee the right to obtain and use birth control as established in Griswold v. Connecticut, including oral contraception, emergency contraception, and IUDs.

Access to reproductive care is an essential aspect of health care:

• As many as 26 states could ban abortion in the wake of the Dobbs decision.
• People seeking abortion care are disproportionately women of color and low-income women, often making up on average over 70 percent of those seeking abortion care.
• Most Americans support legal access to abortion. According to a Pew Research poll, 62 percent of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
• An estimated 1 in 4 women will have an abortion during their lifetime.
• 87 percent of women report using birth control at some point in their life.