Evergreen Reporter

Washington, D.C. – On June 21, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) hosted a press conference with Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) ahead of the June 24th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade and stripped reproductive health care freedom from 22 million women and counting. Since the Dobbs decision, 14 states have passed total bans on abortion, another six states have severely limited abortion access, and nine other states have had their abortion bans blocked in court.

The senators marked the coming one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision— which was the result of a calculated, decades-long effort by Republicans to fill our courts with extreme, anti-abortion judges — by speaking out about how Republicans have caused a full-fledged health care crisis by forcing women in states across America to stay pregnant against their will, even when their lives are in danger. The senators also highlighted the many ways Senate Democrats have been fighting back over the past year and previewed that they will seek unanimous consent for four common-sense bills to protect women’s fundamental freedoms on the Senate floor this afternoon. Those pieces of legislation are:

• Right to Contraception Act (S.1999), which would enshrine into law the right to use birth control—which is under threat after Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the Supreme Court should reconsider its ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut.
• Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act (S.2053), which would ensure women can freely travel for health care after Republican state legislatures have banned, and threatened to ban, women’s fundamental right to travel out of state to receive health care, including abortion care.
• Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act (S.1297), which would ensure doctors can continue to safely provide legal abortion care and protect health care providers from being held liable for providing services to patients from other states.
• Upholding Protections for Health and Online Location Data (UPHOLD) Privacy Act (S.631), which would protect people’s online health and location data so that it cannot be used against them, including to identify people seeking reproductive health care services.

“Every day, women across our country are confronting a dystopian reality: one where Republican politicians have the final say in their health care decisions,” said Senator Murray. “Women are forced to stay pregnant against their will—even when their health and lives are at risk, doctors in some states are having to deny patients the lifesaving care they need or risk being sent to jail, and other providers—in states like mine—are being pushed to the breaking point trying to serve an influx of patients from out of state. The fallout has been devastating.”

“Women are not going to settle for a country where men in state legislatures are taking away their fundamental freedom to decide what happens to their bodies, where they are treated not like adults capable of making their own health care choices—but like second-class citizens—and they are not going to settle for a country where their daughters and granddaughters have fewer rights than they did just a year ago,” Murray continued. “I have been fighting for abortion rights since I got here. So, I can tell you, this fight didn’t start with Roe, and it did not end with Dobbs.”

“Nearly one year ago, the right-wing activist Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision and signaled to the women across this country that their right to privacy, to healthcare, and to their own autonomy could now be violated,” said Majority Leader Schumer. “MAGA Republicans have made it clear that they will not stop with their vicious anti-choice agenda until there is a nationwide abortion ban. This issue is too pressing to ignore. Senate Democrats are going to fight like hell to make sure that the women of this generation will not have less access to contraception and abortions than their parents and grandparents did.”

“Last year, the Supreme Court ripped away the fundamental freedom to make our own reproductive health care decisions, putting so many women at risk,” said Senator Stabenow. “Michiganders made their voices heard, and now this freedom is guaranteed in our state. Congress must make sure this freedom is protected no matter what state you live in.”

“Nearly a year ago, the Supreme Court issued a ruling reversing almost five decades of precedent protecting a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions,” said Senator Klobuchar. “Across the country, the American people have come together time and time again to stand up for reproductive rights. And in Congress, we’re continuing our push to pass commonsense bills to protect women’s health, including my bill to stop the use of personal health information for commercial advertising and ban the sale of location data. One thing is clear—we will not settle for a reality in which our daughters have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers.” 

“In the year since the conservative Supreme Court majority struck down Roe v. Wade, we’ve watched state after state strip away health care protections for women. The Dobbs decision didn’t stop women from needing abortions. Instead, some women can no longer receive abortion services, and for others abortion care has become much more dangerous, unnecessarily putting their health at risk,” said Senator Feinstein. “Passing the Women’s Health Protection Act is long overdue. It’s time for Congress to pass it and other vital legislation to protect a woman’s right to safely receive an abortion.”

“For women in Wisconsin, who are living under an 1849 criminal abortion ban and denied their right to control their bodies, families, and futures, this is not a political exercise. This is dire,” said Senator Baldwin. “Every American deserves the freedom to make their own health care decisions without interference from politicians, and that includes abortion care. The American people want their rights and freedoms back, and I am proud to be fighting for them.”

“In the year since Roe v. Wade was overturned, we’ve seen states across the country ban abortion and target women seeking the reproductive care they need. That’s why it’s more urgent than ever for us to pass legislation protecting women’s fundamental freedoms at the federal level,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “We’ll never stop fighting for women’s rights, and I’ll continue to stand up to anti-choice politicians who want to punish women for making their own choices about their own bodies.” 

“In the year since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, attempts to ban abortion and restrict women’s reproductive rights have been relentless, and these dangerous actions have had devastating consequences for women,” said Senator Rosen. “And what’s even worse is that some extreme Republicans want to go even further, banning abortion nationally. This would threaten or even ban abortion in pro-choice states like my state of Nevada. As long as I’m here and Senate Democrats remain in the majority, we won’t let a restrictive abortion ban pass.”

“One year after the Supreme Court’s disastrous Dobbs decision, I remain just as outraged and horrified about how far these anti-choice extremists are willing to go to rip away Americans’ basic access to healthcare services and the freedom to make decisions for themselves, their families and their futures,” said Senator Duckworth. “Overturning Roe v. Wade wasn’t their endgame—Republicans are continuing to look for ways to ban access to abortion and limit reproductive freedom for women in every state. Democrats will not stop working to enshrine the right to choose into federal law.”

“One year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the chaos and confusion created by the disastrous Dobbs decision continue to wreak havoc. Women in states across the country no longer have access to fundamental care that was legal for the past five decades, meaning women and girls today have fewer rights than did their mothers and grandmothers,” said Senator Hirono. “That’s why Democrats are fighting back against draconian abortion restrictions in the Senate and in state houses across the country. While Republicans work to ban abortion nationwide, Democrats will continue fighting to protect and strengthen access to reproductive care for all.”

“The Roe anniversary used to be something we celebrated—a historic moment for women’s rights and fundamental civil liberties for women to control their own bodies. Instead, we’re looking back at the trauma that so many women have been forced to endure because of extreme GOP lawmakers who believe they should be allowed to control women’s bodies, including the bodies of our female service members. Servicewomen and military families are among the most vulnerable, with no choice over where they or their loved ones are stationed, and what state laws may govern women’s bodies,” said Senator Shaheen. “That’s why I’m leading legislation to codify the Pentagon’s policy to provide protected leave for abortion and reproductive health care services to military members and their families. I am prepared to use every tool possible to protect access to care and ensure the decision on if, when and how to start a family remains in the hands of women.”

“Across the country, women are grappling with—often in horrific ways that jeopardize their health and their very lives—the personal impacts of the Supreme Court decision nearly one year ago,” said Senator Hassan. “I’m proud to join my colleagues today to make clear that we will never let up in our efforts to stand up for a woman’s fundamental freedom and autonomy.”

Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and abortion rights, and since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, she has led Congressional efforts to fight back. Murray led her colleagues at the very outset of this Congress to make crystal clear that Senate Democrats are continuing to fight to protect every American’s reproductive rights and will be a firewall against Republicans’ continued attacks on women’s rights—and that’s exactly what she’s doing now. Murray and 48 of her Democratic colleagues recently reintroduced the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore the right to abortion nationwide.

Original source can be found here.