Dear Senators: 

As faith-based, religious, and civil rights organizations that share a commitment to religious  freedom and the separation of religion and government, we write to express our strong and  unequivocal support for S 1975, the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA). The House passed  WHPA on September 24, 2021, moving one step closer to instituting a nationwide safeguard  against medically unnecessary abortion bans and restrictions. Now, it’s the Senate’s turn. 

We affirm our nation’s founding principle of religious liberty, which is integrally bound to  reproductive freedom. Religious liberty includes the right to follow one’s own faith or moral  code in making critical, personal reproductive health decisions, without political interference.  While we respect the right of every individual, including our lawmakers, to hold their own personal  and religious beliefs, our country’s Constitution demands that no one impose a single religious  viewpoint on all through civil law or regulation. The Women’s Health Protection Act is essential  legislation that embodies these shared ideals. 

The Women’s Health Protection Act is urgently needed. Abortion access is under threat  nationwide. Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, states have enacted over 1,300 abortion  restrictions, including more than 100 in 2021 alone. And this spring, the Supreme Court is expected  to overturn Roe, allowing 26 states to ban abortion entirely and jeopardizing access for nearly half  the country. What’s more, even as Roe’s protections currently remain in place, abortion access has  been decimated or even completely eliminated for many people in many states, especially for  Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); those working to make ends meet; members of  the LGBTQI+ community; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; and  people with disabilities who face structural barriers to exercising their human rights. The Women’s  Health Protection Act is an important bill that would establish protections on the federal level to  safeguard access to high-quality care and to secure constitutional rights by protecting patients and  providers from political or religious interference. 

Rather than face onerous barriers due to their economic status, employment status, or zip code,  this bill would ensure that each person can make a decision about abortion led by their own  circumstances, faith, or beliefs. It would also protect the religious liberty of individual health care  providers seeking to administer quality care to their patients and enable providers to deliver  abortion services free from burdensome restrictions designed to impede access rather than improve  patient health.  

We believe in compassion, justice, and dignity for all, compelling us to speak out for social justice  and the right of every person to access comprehensive, affordable, and equitable reproductive  health care. A compassionate nation ensures equal access to quality, timely abortion care for  everyone, an essential factor to social and economic participation, reproductive and moral  autonomy, and the right to determine our own lives. In contrast, laws that limit the availability of  abortion disrespect human dignity, erode constitutional rights, exact far-reaching health and 

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economic consequences, and ignore the moral agency of physicians seeking to provide  compassionate care. 

Furthermore, laws that eliminate options for some based on their geographic location are  profoundly unjust, pushing care out of reach for the most marginalized among us. We cannot  remain idle as state laws transform our country into a map of “haves and have-nots” with regard  to access to reproductive health services. We call on the Senate to pass Women’s Health Protection  Act to protect access to abortion and to help us build a society where all can participate equally  and thrive in our communities with dignity. 

Every day, we support equal, fair, and comprehensive access to health care and respect for personal  decision-making. We support the Women’s Health Protection Act as a means to this end and  urge you and your colleagues to do the same. The 117th Congress must act in solidarity with  people and communities fighting for racial, economic, and reproductive justice and commit to  safeguarding the right of every person to make their own decisions about their bodies, free from  discrimination and political interference. Passing the Women’s Health Protection Act is the right  thing to do. 

Respectfully, 

National Council of Jewish Women 

Catholics for Choice 

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice 

Union for Reform Judaism 

Women of Reform Judaism 

National Organizations 

A Critical Mass: Women Celebrating Eucharist 

African American Ministers In Action (AAMIA) 

ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal 

Alliance of Baptists 

Ameinu 

American Atheists 

American Humanist Association 

American Jewish World Service 

Americans United for Separation of Church and State 

Anti-Defamation League 

Auburn Seminary 

Avodah 

Believe Out Loud 

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action 

CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers 

Central Conference of American Rabbis 

Chicago Women-Church 

Clergy Advocacy Board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America 

CORPUS

Disciples Justice Action Network 

Episcopal Women’s Caucus 

Faithful America 

Freedom From Religion Foundation 

Global Justice Institute (MCC) 

Habonim Dror North America 

Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. Hindus for Human Rights 

Human Rights Campaign 

Interfaith Alliance 

Interfaith Voices for Reproductive Justice 

Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action 

Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) 

Jewish Democratic Council of America 

Jewish Labor Committee 

Jewish Women International 

Jewish Women’s Foundation 

Jews United for Justice 

jGirls+ Magazine 

Keshet 

Many Voices 

Methodist Federation for Social Action 

Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) 

Moving Traditions 

Muslim Advocates 

Muslims for Progressive Values 

National Center for Lesbian Rights 

National Center for Transgender Equality 

National Coalition of American Nuns (NCAN) 

National Organization for Women 

Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies 

People For the American Way 

Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options 

Rabbinical Assembly 

Reconstructing Judaism 

Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association 

Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus 

Society for Humanistic Judaism 

Tivnu: Building Justice 

The Student Coalition for Reproductive Justice 

The Workers Circle 

T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights 

Unitarian Universalist Association 

Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation 

United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries Voices for Progress

We Testify 

Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER) 

Women’s League for Conservative Judaism 

Women’s Ordination Conference 

Women’s Rabbinic Network 

State & Local Organizations 

Carolina Jews for Justice 

Cathedral Of Hope UCC 

Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice 

Faith Choice Ohio 

Florida Interfaith Coalition for Reproductive Health and Justice 

Illinois National Organization for Women 

Inclusive Justice of Michigan 

Jewish Community Action 

Just Texas: Faith Voices for Reproductive Freedom 

Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network (MUUSJN)

National Council of Jewish Women, Arizona Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Atlanta Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Austin Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Bergen County Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Chicago North Shore Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Colorado Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Dallas Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Long Beach & West Orange County Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Greater New Orleans Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Philadelphia Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Houston Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Jersey Hills Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Kansas City Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Los Angeles Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Maine Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Maryland 

National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Milwaukee Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Minnesota Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Nashville Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, New York Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Northern Virginia 

National Council of Jewish Women, Peninsula Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Sacramento Section 

National Council of Jewish Women, Saddleback Section

National Council of Jewish Women, San Antonio Section

National Council of Jewish Women, San Francisco Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Sarasota-Manatee Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Southeast Atlantic Section

National Council of Jewish Women, South Cook Section

National Council of Jewish Women, St. Louis Section

National Council of Jewish Women, Valencia Shores Section

Nebraska Religious Council for Reproductive Freedom

New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

PA Religious Coalition for Reproductive Justice 

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic 

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice of Connecticut, Inc.

Rhode Island Religious Coalition for Reproductive Freedom

SisterReach 

South Carolina Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

Texas Freedom Network 

United Church of Christ Detroit Area Social Justice Team

UU Advocacy Network of IL