Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare

Press Release:

WATCH: Click here to view a highlight of the Judiciary Committee hearing on threats to reproductive rights in America.

In my view, our country has reached a crisis point for a woman’s constitutional right to control her own body and reproductive choices. In the month of May alone, Alabama outlawed abortion outright, with no exemptions even in cases of rape or incest; Georgia and Louisiana effectively outlawed abortion at six weeks into a pregnancy; and Missouri outlawed abortion at eight weeks. I believe that these laws, which in many instances would ban abortion before women even know they are pregnant, are extreme, immoral, and most importantly, unconstitutional.

As Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, I convened the first hearing of this Congress focused on threats to reproductive rights in the state and in the courts. Unlike the draconian hearings of the past – which were dominated by anti-choice, male witnesses – the Committee’s hearing  featured testimony from eight women, including providers and women who shared firsthand their own abortion experiences. I am committed to doing all I can to protect a woman's right to choose. That is why I am proud to support the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would put an end to states banning or limiting access to abortion, and the EACH Woman Act, which repeals the discriminatory Hyde Amendment and ends abortion coverage bans once and for all. 

The hearing featured an all-woman panel, including women who shared firsthand their own abortion experiences.

I firmly believe that when you restrict access to abortion, you strip women of the fundamental freedom to live life on their own terms. Congress must put an end to what I believe is an ongoing assault against a woman’s constitutional right to abortion. I will continue to fight to ensure that every woman has the right to make decisions about their bodies without anyone questioning their intellect, morals, or honesty.