In the News
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13), co-chair of the Pro- Choice Caucus, released a statement on the failure of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) — legislation that protects the right to access abortion nationwide — in the Senate on May 11.
This legislation safeguards abortion rights against the barrage of state-based attacks and provides a bulwark against the anticipated Supreme Court action to strike down or erode the protections established in Roe v. Wade and failed by a vote of 49-51 in the Senate.
Congresswoman Diana DeGette, the co-chair of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, implored the Senate to act and pass House-passed legislation protecting people’s right to abortion care, despite it failing to do so earlier this year, after the leak of the draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade.
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, is warning of “devastating” impacts on communities of color if Roe v. Wade is overturned after a leaked draft ruling from the Supreme Court showed that the bench has voted to overturn the nearly 50-year-old precedent.
Hundreds of abortion debate partisans crowded the plaza in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, intermingling and trading chants as justices heard the highly anticipated arguments inside.
“Who’s choice?” “My choice,” was a frequent call-and-response on the abortion rights side, countered by “Hey hey, ho ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go.”
Jo Luttazi, wearing gloves emblazoned with “Bans Off Our Bodies” on the palms, said everyone should have access to abortion as a form of health care.
A federal judge has blocked the new Texas law that uses the prospect of private lawsuits to enforce a ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
Acting on a suit brought by the Biden administration, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday evening that immediately forbids Texas state court judges and clerks to accept suits under the law, known as S.B. 8.
2021 has been the worst year for abortion rights since Roe v. Wade, with more than 90 restrictions on abortion access enacted at the state level. Texas’s S.B. 8, the vigilante-enforced abortion ban at about six weeks of pregnancy, has been the most dramatic and concerning, effectively cutting off all abortion access in the state.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing Thursday on abortion rights in response to the spate of anti-abortion laws being instituted across the country.
Three female Democrats — Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Barbara Lee of California — all shared their personal stories of having undergone abortions. In a just world, their testimony wouldn’t be required to secure basic human rights like abortion access for all.
Democratic Reps. Cori Bush (Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) and Barbara Lee (Calif.) shared their abortion stories on Wednesday, a day before a congressional hearing on access to the procedure, which is under increasing threat.