WATCH: Baldwin speaking on the Senate floor in support of the Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) went to the U.S. Senate floor to advance her legislation to break down barriers to abortion care for women in states without access. The Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act would help offset the cost of travel-related expenses associated with traveling long distances to access reproductive health care, such as travel, lodging, meals, childcare, and more. Senator Baldwin's call to unanimously advance the bill failed after a Senate Republican objected.

"Across the country, women have been stripped of the freedom to make their own decisions about their family, their health, and their future. Judges and politicians have inserted themselves into exam rooms, telling doctors they cannot treat their patients, sometimes even if that treatment would save her life," said Senator Baldwin. "The rights you have as an American should not depend on the state you live in. If we cannot restore Roe this Congress, we should at the very least extend a lifeline to the millions of women who are unable to access needed care in their own communities."

For 15 months from June 2022 until September 2023, women in Wisconsin lived under an 1849 abortion ban. Prior to the Dobbs decision, only 16%, or one in six, of Wisconsin abortion patients received out-of-state care. In 2023, that number was up to 88%, meaning that nine out of ten patients had to seek out-of-state care. Wisconsinites have traveled to Illinois for care from all 72 counties. In 2023, over 6,000 Wisconsinites fled to Minnesota and Illinois to get abortion care. The average cost of seeking care out of state exceeded $1,000, with patients spending an average of $330 on lodging alone. Even with limited access to abortion returning to Wisconsin in September 2023, the monthly number of traveling patients from Wisconsin to Illinois remains three times higher than it was pre-Dobbs.

The Reproductive Health Travel Fund Actwould set up a grant program to help ease the financial burden associated with traveling long distances to access safe and legal reproductive health care. Specifically, the bill would allow the Treasury Secretary to award grants to eligible entities to pay for travel-related expenses and logistical support for individuals accessing abortion services. Funds, made available through a competitive grant, could be used for round trip travel, lodging, meals, childcare, translation services, doula care, patient education and information services, and lost wages.

Eligible entities include non-profits or community-based organizations that assist individuals seeking abortions. Grants would be prioritized for entities that serve people who live in a jurisdiction that has banned or severely restricted access to abortion, serve those who travel to a jurisdiction to access abortion care, or have a program in operation that helps patients access abortion services.

Watch Senator Baldwin's full remarks here.

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