‘Every Option on the Table’ to Protect Reproductive Healthcare, Becerra Says

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced a series of actions that his department will take to increase access to medication abortion and other reproductive healthcare options across the country, during a press conference on Tuesday.

“We will do everything within our legal limit of the law to reach patients and support providers,” Becerra said at the start of the briefing.

The announcement came as a response to the Supreme Court ruling — in a 6-3 decision — on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which effectively overturned Roe v. Wade and ended constitutional protection for abortion. The ruling returned legal authority to state legislatures to set rules on abortion access and related medical care.

Becerra called the decision “unconscionable,” adding that “Friday’s Supreme Court decision was despicable, but not unpredictable.”

He explained the steps that HHS will take in response to the ruling, all aimed at increasing access to reproductive healthcare options and limiting barriers to treating pregnant patients.

First, he said the department will take steps to increase access to medication abortion, noting that federal law requires HHS programs to provide medication abortion in specific circumstances, including to save a pregnant person’s life or for pregnancies that result from rape or incest.

It is more “imperative” than ever that all federally supported programs comply with these practices, he noted.

Becerra also announced that HHS will work to ensure privacy for and prevent discrimination of individuals seeking reproductive healthcare and the physicians providing that care, adding that the department will be examining its scope of authority under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, which could help to further support healthcare workers in providing medically necessary abortions for pregnant patients with severe complications.

He emphasized that HHS agencies would continue to ensure that all healthcare workers have appropriate training and resources to help patients “navigate this new reality.”

Finally, he said that he would be directing CMS to take all legal action necessary to protect family planning care, such as emergency contraception or IUDs.

“Healthcare is a matter to be decided by patients and their providers,” he stressed. “As part of these efforts, we will make clear that family planning providers are able to participate in the Medicaid program. These clinics provide safe care and have a vast expanse of expertise in providing reproductive healthcare.”

HHS also announced a new government website designed to provide accurate information about reproductive rights, including access to abortion services.

Becerra noted that the HHS Reproductive Access Task Force, which was created earlier this year, will help identify and implement every available action to protect women’s access to reproductive healthcare, though he stopped short of announcing specific legal measures that would be enforced. The department is “not interested in going rogue,” he said.

“We will stay within the confines of the law, even though it’s a law that I personally believe jeopardizes the health of women,” he continued. “Every option is on the table. There is no magic bullet, but if there is something we can do, we will find it and do it.”