Senator Murray: “I hope Republicans will come today and listen to the testimonies of our witnesses. I hope they will truly take to heart the stories of women and providers whose lives have been turned upside-down and irrevocably harmed by the abortion bans they championed and cleared the way for.”
***VIDEO of Press Conference HERE***
Washington, D.C. – This morning, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and HELP Committee members Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Tina Smith (D-MN) held a press conference immediately ahead of the HELP Committee hearing Senator Murray is chairing on the tremendous harm, chaos, and heartbreak that the Dobbs decision and Republican abortion bans have created over the past two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The hearing, at 10:00am ET today, is titled “The Assault on Women’s Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America.” Witnesses and testimony can be found HERE.
Senator Murray’s remarks at the press conference, as delivered, are below:
“Today we will hold a HELP Committee hearing on the ongoing damage caused by the Dobbs decision—which Republicans in the Senate enabled and cheered—and the cruel Republican abortion bans that have been passed in state after state over the past two years.
“As we will hear, the chaos, the fear, the heartbreak caused by extreme Republican abortion bans has only grown with each passing day.
“And we would like to say to any Republicans who are still in denial: this issue is not going away.
“It is the furthest thing from being settled.
“Women are not going to forget about the horrors they have been put through, and they are not going to accept a status quo where politicians control their most personal medical decisions.
“And we’ve seen that several times already—every time abortion rights have been on the ballot over the past two years, abortion rights have won.
“The message here is clear, it is unambiguous, and we are going to make sure that Republicans do not ignore it.
“I hope Republicans will come today and listen to the testimonies of our witnesses. I hope they will truly take to heart the stories of women and providers whose lives have been turned upside-down and irrevocably harmed by the abortion bans they championed and cleared the way for.
“Senate Democrats are going to keep lifting up the voices of women who are bravely sharing their stories.
“We will keep shining a spotlight on the lives that have been wrecked by cruel Republican abortion bans.
“And Democrats will not rest until we restore abortion rights for all Americans, by passing the Women’s Health Protection Act.”
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