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In March, D.C. Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) introduced a bill to enhance protections for people who assist someone with a self-managed abortion, such as one induced by medication at home. Henderson said in an interview she acted after seeing a flurry of proposed or enacted legislation across the country seeking to criminalize or penalize people who assist others in obtaining an abortion, noticing that was one area D.C. hadn’t yet thought to add protections.

“We have [our own] protections in place. We have updated our human rights laws and rules on reproductive decision-making. I have a bill that’s pending right now to provide some additional enhancements as it pertains to self-managed abortions,” she told DCist/WAMU. “And then I thought, ‘Man, if Republicans take back Congress, they will use the District as their petri dish yet again.’ They will they will attempt to go further than just saying, ‘You can’t spend local funds on abortion.’”

D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson brought her toddler daughter to the public celebration. Henderson, a Black woman, said she wanted her child to witness history. “The sky is the limit and another glass ceiling or concrete ceiling has been broken,” she said.

“Many people don’t anticipate that they will have difficulty conceiving a child,” Henderson said. “Once they realize that they do and that there is a clear solution, they are then met with another obstacle – cost. One cycle of in vitro fertilization alone can cost between $20,000 to $25,000 and insurance providers are not required to cover this treatment. This legislation would change that, requiring private, Medicaid and DC Alliance insurers to cover assisted reproductive technologies.”

O’Leary said he is hopeful that increased advocacy from D.C. City Councilmembers like Janeese Lewis George and Christina Henderson, who were not yet elected in 2018, will have an impact.

“We’ve put a lot of money in terms of band-aids around maintenance, and it’s now time for a facility that meets our goals,” said at-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson.

Councilmember Henderson - Bill Would Require Insurance to Cover Invitro Fertilization

“It is amazing that this bill needs to be filed and implemented,” she said Tuesday at a news conference in front of the John A. Wilson Building in Northwest with supporters of the legislation. “Domestic workers in D.C. are excluded from basic worker protections because their workplace is in a private home. These women perform difficult work for not high pay. They need clear wages and clear work schedules.”

At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson, Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, and Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, who had lost his voice, also addressed a crowd of ecstatic, sign-carrying members of the D.C. chapter of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. With five additional co-introducers, the bill enjoys enough early support to pass the full Council.

Among the councilmembers who were there to support the bill were Christina Henderson, Janeese Lewis George, and Charles Allen. Lewis George, who shared her family’s history as domestic workers in the District, says that systemic racism is partially to blame for the lack of protections.

In 2020, the {D.C. Government Paid Leave Enhancement Act}, which Silverman wrote with At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson (I), was co-introduced by all 13 Council members. It provided D.C. government employees with up to 12 weeks of parental or family caregiving leave, as well as personal medical leave and pre-natal leave.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with the House of Representatives in November, but our window is super limited,” said Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At Large) during an event hosted by a new marijuana-gifting advocacy group last month. “That has been one of the messages we have expressed to our allies in the Congress — it has to happen this calendar year or we’re going to miss our window.”