Jeff Van Drew has a long record of supporting laws that make it harder for women to get abortions and birth control. He cosponsored federal “Born-Alive” bills promoted by anti-abortion groups and voted against measures to protect abortion access and contraception rights. After the Supreme Court ended the national right to abortion, he said the issue should be “left to the states,” even though many states have banned abortion entirely—forcing thousands of women to travel long distances for care. The laws he supports add criminal penalties for doctors, discouraging them from providing abortion services and making care even harder to find. Together, these policies have reduced access for millions of women across the country.
¶ Van Drew’s congressional record shows sustained support for policies that restrict abortion access and fail to protect contraception access
- In January 2025, Van Drew cosponsored H.R. 21, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a federal measure prioritized by anti-abortion advocates. (congress.gov)
- In the previous Congress, he was listed among cosponsors of H.R. 26, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. (congress.gov)
- On July 15, 2022, Van Drew voted against H.R. 8297, the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, which would protect interstate travel for abortion care. (clerk.house.gov)
- On July 21, 2022, Van Drew voted against H.R. 8373, the Right to Contraception Act. (clerk.house.gov)
¶ He explicitly supports “leaving abortion to the states,” where bans have removed in‑state access and created widespread barriers
- After Dobbs (June 24, 2022), Van Drew praised the ruling and said the Supreme Court “made the right decision to return this issue to the states,” also vowing to fight New Jersey’s abortion policies. (6abc.com)
- As of March 2024, there were no clinics providing abortion care in the 14 states with total abortion bans then in effect (down from 63 clinics in those states in 2020), meaning residents of those states lacked in‑state clinical access. (guttmacher.org)
- In 2024, about 155,000 people traveled out of state for abortion care—nearly double the pre‑Dobbs level—showing how bans force patients to seek care elsewhere. (guttmacher.org)
- KFF polling finds that in states with abortion bans, one in five women aged 18–49 say they or someone they know has had difficulty accessing an abortion since Dobbs. (kff.org)
- Florida’s 2024 six‑week ban sharply reduced abortions in that large state and further squeezed access across the South, illustrating how additional state restrictions compound the problem. (guttmacher.org)
- The Born‑Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 21/H.R. 26) imposes specific care, reporting, and transport requirements and creates federal criminal penalties for clinicians who fail to comply. (congress.gov)
- Guttmacher reports more than 1,038,000 clinician‑provided abortions in 2024 (in states without total bans) and documents the post‑Dobbs shift in care patterns, indicating that state bans are reshaping access at national scale. (guttmacher.org)
- Guttmacher’s 2025 updates show continued declines in cross‑border care and significant access disruptions, reflecting the breadth of the population affected by bans and restrictions. (guttmacher.org)