HHS announces task force to protect and strengthen reproductive health care access
The HHS announced the launch of the Reproductive Healthcare Access Task Force, the department’s first-ever intra-agency task force, according to a press release.
“As we commemorate the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we recommit to protecting and strengthening access to reproductive health care, including the right to safe and legal abortion care that the Supreme Court has recognized for decades,” Xavier Becerra, HHS secretary, said in the release. “Patients have the right to make decisions about their own bodies. In light of restrictive laws across the nation, HHS will evaluate the impact on patients and our communities ... Once again, we are telling health care providers and patients, we have your back.”
The task force, co-chaired by Adm. Rachel Levine, MD, HHS assistant secretary for health, and Loyce Pace, MPH, HHS assistant secretary for global affairs, will protect and strengthen sexual and reproductive health care through “collaborative, innovative, transparent, equitable, and action-oriented approaches,” according to the release.
“Establishing a new task force dedicated to this critical public health topic will advance policies that improve reproductive health care access within federal programs and services, eliminate health disparities, and expand access to culturally competent health care services for underserved communities, including people of color, people with disabilities, young people, LGBTQI+ people, and others,” Levine said in the release.