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Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) is set to introduce legislation that would create a government website providing access to family planning services, along with information for pregnant women, she told Axios’ Tina Reed at an event Wednesday.
Why it matters: The legislation is aimed “especially in places and states that are going to ban abortion” in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Smith said.
The website would be called life.gov, and would prompt a user to enter their zip code, before it would provide them with information for family planning, pregnancy or parenthood.
- The information would include public and private resources for medical care, adoption, mental health, dealing with postpartum depression, education and financial assistance, among other services, Smith said.
- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is writing the companion bill in the Senate.
“When we’re having this conversation about about Roe v Wade or life or choice, we’ve got to make sure that women have access to health care, medical care, prenatal care, that they have access to birth control …
“You got to have this conversation of the women that maybe get pregnant and don’t have an unwanted pregnancy. How do they give that child up for adoption? What are the resources for care?
— Rep. Tina Smith
Between the lines: Smith believes their bill will receive bipartisan support.
- “I think this is a great step, particularly particularly timely with overturning Roe v Wade,” Smith said.
- “And it’s something that I think should be bipartisan. It should be seen as supportive on both sides of the aisle. But in this politically divisive environment today, it’s very hard to work together.”
Yes, but: Smith added the bill would give Republicans a chance to stake out their position on family planning, adding that her counterparts “really have a problem with communicating where they stand on these issues.”
- “This gives us an opportunity to talk about family planning, to talk about the services and resources that are available and work wherever the woman lives, and providing that information to her so she can make some decisions about her and her child’s future,” Smith added.
What to watch: “I do believe we get a great a great majority of support on the Republican side,” Smith said.
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