Senate Democrats Vow to Fight Republicans’ National Abortion Ban
(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chair of the Senate Rules Committee, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) made crystal clear at a press conference they led that they will fight Republicans’ national abortion ban alongside their Democratic colleagues at every step of the way.
In state after state, Republicans have enacted extreme abortion bans—and now, they’re pushing a national abortion ban that would strip women in every state of their right to make their own health care decisions and punish doctors for providing abortion care. When introducing the legislation on Tuesday, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) vowed that: “If we take back the House and the Senate, I can assure you we’ll have a vote on our bill.”
“Republicans can’t pretend they want to leave abortion to states while blocking Senator Cortez-Masto’s bill to let people travel to other states for an abortion. Republicans can’t say they don’t want to punish doctors while blocking my bill to ensure doctors in states where abortion is legal can’t be punished for doing their jobs. But if there was any doubt about Republicans’ true intentions—about their extreme abortion plans—there’s no question after this week,” said Senator Murray. “Republicans want to ban abortion in every single state. They want to punish doctors.”
“If Republicans think they can go after my constituents’ rights, go after women’s bodies and futures, and overrule the personal medical decisions of people across the country, they’ve got another thing coming. Because I am not going to stop pushing back. Democrats are not going to stop pushing back,” added Senator Murray.
“Republicans are twisting themselves into pretzels to explain their position on abortion because they know the American people overwhelmingly side with a woman’s right to choose,” said Leader Schumer. “The Republican abortion ban introduced this week shows the stark contrast between Democrats who are focused on creating jobs, lowering costs, and bringing our country together, and MAGA Republicans who are a pushing radical, extremist agenda.”
“Two and a half months ago, the Supreme Court issued a ruling, shredding nearly five decades of precedent. … This bill that was introduced will take these restrictions even a step further. This is not what the American people want,” said Senator Klobuchar. “It is now more clear than ever that we must codify Roe v. Wade into law.”
“When a woman can’t make decisions about her own body and about abortion, this affects her family, her community, and our economy. The vast majority of Americans support a woman’s right to bodily autonomy, but apparently, Republicans don’t think so,” said Senator Hirono. “If Republicans take control over the Senate, they are going to push for a national ban. And that means that states like Hawaii, which was the first state in the nation to protect a woman’s right to choose and all other states that come forward, or already have in place, basically codifying Roe—under this national ban bill, would fall by the wayside.”
“Republicans’ proposal to ban abortion nationwide lays bare, in black and white, that they never really wanted to ‘leave women’s rights to the states’ like they have long told the American people,” said Senator Duckworth. “While Democrats spent this summer helping working families keep more of their hard-earned money, Republicans spent theirs trying to strip away millions of Americans’ rights and effectively make 50% of America second-class citizens. Democrats and I will do everything in our power to prevent this nationwide ban on basic healthcare—a ban that explicitly goes against what the vast majority of Americans want—from happening.”
“Senator Graham’s radical proposal is exactly what Republicans had in mind when they hand-picked Supreme Court nominees to overturn Roe v. Wade. They want a national ban on abortion. And it’s what they will do if they take back control of the House and Senate. They've said so themselves,” Senator Wyden said. “The American people should expect them to follow through, and vote in November to guarantee that this bill never sees the light of day.”
“With this bill to put a federal ban on a woman’s right to choose, our Republican colleagues have shown their true colors and proven beyond all doubt that they will stop at nothing to turn back the clock and make women in America second-class citizens,” said Senator Gillibrand. “They said that such decisions about the right to bodily autonomy and to life and death medical decisions should be made by individual states. But of course this was never really about the states. It’s always been about control — who controls women and our rights to privacy, bodily autonomy, basic human rights, civil rights, and constitutional freedoms. Voters will continue to make their voices heard and I will never stop fighting to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom into federal law once and for all.”
“Americans should have no doubt about where Republicans stand now on this issue. They want to punish women and they want to punish doctors. They will do it at the state level and they will do it at the national level,” said Senator Blumenthal. “No state, not even Connecticut, is safe from this threat. I trust women, not the government or politicians, to make these preeminently important decisions.”
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