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WASHINGTON -- A on reproductive healthcare Wednesday following the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade had the Democrats talking about the decision's dire consequences for women's health, while the Republicans minimized the negative possibilities and urged both sides to come together.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee, listed some of the consequences of the decision by the high court. "Women unable to get abortions for any reason. Healthcare providers unable to do their jobs without risking prison. Patients with lupus, cancer, arthritis, and more denied the medications they need. Complete uncertainty for people planning their futures as access to Plan B [levonorgestrel] and IVF [in vitro fertilization] has been thrown into jeopardy," she said. "And Republicans' response to this devastation is to discuss how they can push even farther, be even crueler, take even more power away from patients, and scare even more doctors out of their jobs."

Debunking Myths

Sen. Roger Marshall, MD (R-Kansas), an ob/gyn, took an opposing tack, emphasizing the myths that he said have been floating around about the decision. One myth, he said, was that "women will not have access to abortion. That's not true. Even the that after overturning Roe, abortions will decrease by only 14%." He added that now that the decision has turned abortion regulation over to the states, "27 states and Washington D.C. continue to be largely unaffected, while 19 states will have protective limits" on abortion, and the other states "most likely fall somewhere n between."

It's also a myth, he continued, that "overturning Roe means healthcare professionals and hospitals cannot treat women with miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, or when the mom's life is endangered. These are all scare tactics preying on the emotions of people. Every state abortion law triggered by overturning Roe includes an exception to save the life of the mother."

Most of the witnesses at the hearing, who were invited by committee Democrats, opposed the Supreme Court's decision. "In the United States, you are 14 times more likely to die in childbirth than you are to die of an abortion," said Kristyn Brandi, MD, MPH, board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Health. "And we know from the that people denied access to abortion have a higher chance of facing poverty and having worse health outcomes compared to patients that were able to access an abortion.

"I am a pro-abortion doctor -- and I say 'pro-abortion' not to be antagonistic, but to point out all the good that abortion can provide ," Brandi said. "For those that do not want to be pregnant for any reason, the ability to have an abortion gives them the freedom to decide if and when to become pregnant. For some, abortion is liberation."

Deep Dismay With SCOTUS Decision

Jamila Taylor, PhD, MPA, director of healthcare reform and senior fellow at the Century Foundation, said she was "deeply dismayed" by the decision. "I'm also frightened by the impact this decision will surely have on this country's ongoing maternal health crisis," Taylor said. "According to the , Black women are dying of pregnancy-related causes at three times the rate of their white counterparts. We are also most likely to experience severe maternal morbidity. For Black women, pregnancy and childbirth, no matter how planned out or desired, puts our lives at risk."

But Brandi Swindell, founder and CEO of Stanton Health Care -- a crisis pregnancy center -- and Stanton Public Policy Center, disagreed. "Since 1980, the abortion rate has fallen by more than 50%," said Swindell, a witness invited by committee Republicans. "During the same time, women have succeeded on a variety of educational and economic metrics. If women are gaining educationally and economically at a time when abortion rates are falling, it's pretty clear that women do not need to rely on abortion to succeed."

Swindell called for an end to the recent attacks on churches and crisis pregnancy centers. "For those who disagree with the Supreme Court's decision on Roe, directing revenge and retaliation on centers like Stanton Health Care is misguided, is hateful, is anti-women and must be condemned and stopped immediately," she said. "Today I am calling on all members of this committee to personally and publicly condemn the firebombing violent attacks and threats against life-affirming charitable women's clinics. Congress and the Biden administration should be a part of the solution and not cast blame on centers like ours."

Finding Common Ground

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also expressed measured concern about the decision. "When it comes to decisions that are so personal, that are so complex and have such an impact on a person's life, I think that that choice must ultimately be in the hands of the individual and not in the government," she said. "That's where I came down on vaccine mandates and it's where I come down on abortion. But I think that like so many other areas, there are nuances, there are gray areas. Many Americans, myself included, believe that it is reasonable to not require those who are firmly opposed to abortion to support it with their tax dollars, and the providers who do not wish to be involved in abortion should not be forced to."

Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.) said he wanted to find common ground on the issue. "So I'm going to speak as a physician ... Let's do something about maternal mortality," he said. "But let's not hide our efforts in a cloud of misinformation, suggesting for a fact that aborting every baby is a way to protect women's lives when we see here in Washington, D.C. -- with the most liberal law on abortion in the nation -- having the highest rate of maternal mortality."

On the pro-choice side, Brandi noted that some anti-abortion laws that have exceptions to save the life and health of the mother are leaving providers confused. "Delaying peoples' ability to access that care and delaying interventions in lifesaving situations can be the difference between life and death for some people," she said. For instance, if a pregnant woman's water breaks at 18-19 weeks, "it's unlikely the pregnancy will continue to term or have a good fetal outcome, but it's unclear according to law whether [the doctor] is able to intervene."

The hearing came on the same day that the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reminding them that pharmacies that accept payments from Medicare or Medicaid "are prohibited under law from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in their programs and activities. This includes supplying prescribed medications; making determinations regarding the suitability of prescribed medications for a patient; and advising a patient about prescribed medications and how to take them."

"We are committed to ensuring that everyone can access health care, free of discrimination," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in a press release. "This includes access to prescription medications for reproductive health and other types of care."

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