Washington, D.C. – Today, on the 51st anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)—who leads Senate Democrats on reproductive rights, has introduced dozens of bills to protect and expand access to quality reproductive health care, and has been an outspoken champion of reproductive rights from day one of her career—issued the following statement:
“Today we should be celebrating 51 years of a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her body, her pregnancies, and her future—but instead we are seeing horror story after horror story of how Republicans’ callous and cruel abortion bans have jeopardized women’s health and lives and stripped them of a fundamental freedom.
“The overturning of Roe v. Wade, which was planned and executed by Donald Trump, marked the first time in American history that a constitutional right—one that is essential to women’s autonomy and dignity—was ripped away. As I’ve said before, this isn’t something Republicans can fix with spin, or rebranding, or by sticking their heads in the sand. For women across America where politicians now control their pregnancies—and doctors who are now barred from practicing the quality health care they were trained to provide—the post-Roe world is a living hell, and a personal nightmare.
“What we have seen since Roe v. Wade was overturned that gives me hope—is that everywhere abortion rights has been on the ballot, abortion rights have won. We know that women will not be quiet in the face of their fundamental freedoms being stripped away, and they will not be ignored. I’m going to keep fighting with everything I’ve got alongside women across America to restore Roe and the right to abortion nationwide, and make sure it is womenwho have the power to make these personal decisions about their lives—not politicians.”
Last week, ahead of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Murray held a briefing on the state of abortion rights in America, the chaos and cruelty of the abortion bans that have been enacted in Republican-led states since Roe was overturned, and the need to pass legislation to restore the right to abortion nationwide. At the briefing, 19 Senate Democrats heard from and asked questions of panelists Dr. Austin Dennard, a Texas OB/GYN and patient plaintiff in the Zurawski v. Texas case who was forced to leave her state for abortion care after receiving a fatal fetal diagnosis that threatened her health; Jessica Valenti, founder of the comprehensive daily newsletter Abortion Every Day; and Dr. Serina Floyd, Chief Medical Officer for Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC.
Video of Senator Murray’s full opening remarks at the briefing are HERE.
Right now, 21 states ban abortion or restrict the procedure earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe v. Wade—including 14 states that enforce total bans on abortion care. 27 million women of reproductive age now live in states with abortion bans. When people do not have access to abortion care in their state, they are forced to make the difficult decision to travel long distances for care, self-manage an abortion, or carry an unwanted or non-viable pregnancy to term. Maternal health care has suffered in states that have banned or restricted abortion care and made it harder to attract new OBGYNs to the field, and the Dobbs decision greatly exacerbated America’s existing maternal mortality crisis as maternal and infant death rates are higher in states that ban or restrict abortion. A report from the Gender Equity Policy Institute found that women in states with abortion bans are nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or soon after giving birth.
Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and, after the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade, Murray has led Congressional efforts to fight back. Murray led her colleagues at the 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 has introduced more than a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; she also co-leads the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore the right to abortion nationwide, and has been leading Congressional efforts to make over-the-counter birth control affordable. Ahead of the one year anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Senator Murray led Senate Democrats in seeking unanimous consent on the Senate floor for four common-sense bills to protect women’s fundamental freedoms.
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