Senator Murray: “Republicans want to force us all with them into their time machine. But we’re not going to let them. Democrats are fighting Republicans’ increasingly extreme policies at every step of the way.”
***WATCH: SENATOR MURRAY’S FLOOR REMARKS***
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, took to the Senate floor to launch Senate Democrats’ new effort to highlight the non-stop efforts by Republicans to roll back reproductive rights—on everything from abortion care and access to birth control, including IUDs and Plan B, to access to IVF. The effort, “Republicans’ Rights Rewind,” will highlight each week how Republicans are doing everything they can to drag this country backwards when it comes to reproductive rights, while Senate Democrats continue to push to protect abortion rights and ensure that everyone has access to the reproductive health care they need.
“Republicans are hell-bent on rolling back the clock. Last week, they blocked our bill to protect Roe and the right to abortion. But they aren’t going to stop at overturning Roe and shredding patients’ right to make decisions about their own bodies. In states across the country, Republican lawmakers are banning abortion—without exceptions. They’re targeting people who help a woman get an abortion,” said Senator Murray. “And my Republican colleagues right here in the Senate have made clear they have their sights set on something really extreme: they want a nationwide ban on abortion.”
“Republicans want to force us all with them into their time machine. But we’re not going to let them. Democrats are fighting Republicans’ increasingly extreme policies at every step of the way,” added Senator Murray.
During her remarks, Senator Murray laid out how Senate Democrats will continue using every tool at their disposal to protect everyone’s reproductive rights and will take to the floor each week to make clear how Republicans’ unrelenting attempts to reverse people’s rights are hurting people across the country.
“In the coming weeks, we’re going to remind each and every American of the rights Republicans want to rip away. We won’t allow Republicans to run and hide from the reality of their extreme agenda. We’re going to be on the floor, each week, highlighting how Republicans are doing everything they can to hit rewind on our rights highlighting every protection and freedom that Republicans are ripping away from people across the country,” said Senator Murray. “We’re going to show the country how Republican policies hurt everyone. We’re going to expose Republicans’ radical—and unpopular—views on everything from abortion to family planning to sex ed. We’re going to make clear who is hurt most by their extremism.”
“This fight didn’t end when Republicans blocked the Women’s Health Protection Act last week. Far from it. People across the country are fed up with Republicans’ attacks on their rights. They are fired up and fighting back. Well, so am I. And so are my Democratic colleagues,” said Senator Murray.
Senator Murray’s floor remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:
“Thank you M. President.
“This is a dark, enraging moment for our nation.
“I’ve made that clear already—as have so many of my Democratic colleagues—but I am speaking on the Senate floor today because we cannot back down for a minute.
“We cannot lose sight of the terrifying reality that Republicans want to end the right to abortion, and they are within weeks of accomplishing that goal.
“Very soon, the Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe v. Wade and fulfill Republicans’ decades-long goal of controlling women’s bodies and rolling back everyone’s fundamental right to decide whether or not to start a family.
“Let me say that again because it is shocking—and it is true: in a matter of weeks, women across the country will lose a constitutional right they have had for half a century.
“The steady march forward to secure women’s rights that generations before us fought for will be reversed.
“And my daughter and granddaughters will have fewer rights than I did.
“Women will be forced to carry pregnancies to term when they don’t to.
“And Republicans will be responsible.
“This is the future they have been fighting for.
“This is the America they want.
“And they are not done yet.
“Republicans are hell-bent on rolling back the clock.
“Last week, they blocked our bill to protect Roe and the right to abortion.
“But they aren’t going to stop at overturning Roe and shredding patients’ right to make decisions about their own bodies.
“In states across the country, Republican lawmakers are banning abortion—without exceptions.
“They’re targeting people who help a woman get an abortion—doctors providing this essential health care, friends and family members supporting their loved ones, and even the drivers just doing their jobs and helping get patients to their medical appointments.
“Republicans are working around the clock to make it harder for women and families to control their own futures.
“They’re coming after the birth control and IUDs that tens of millions rely on to plan a family—on their own terms.
“They are coming after Plan B.
“They’re even putting patients’ ability to get the IVF care they need to help start a family at risk.
“And my Republican colleagues right here in the Senate have made clear they have their sights set on something really extreme: they want a nationwide ban on abortion.
“Republicans aren’t content with some states banning abortion—and creating health crises that spill across state lines.
“They want to eliminate the right of every woman in America to get an abortion—in Washington state and everywhere else.
“It’s not hypothetical, and it’s not some far-off worry.
“It’s appalling. It’s completely backwards.
“Republicans want to force us all with them into their time machine.
“But we’re not going to let them.
“Democrats are fighting Republicans’ increasingly extreme policies at every step of the way.
“In the coming weeks, we’re going to remind each and every American of the rights Republicans want to rip away.
“We won’t allow Republicans to run and hide from the reality of their extreme agenda.
“We’re going to be on the floor, each week, highlighting how Republicans are doing everything they can to hit rewind on our rights highlighting every protection and freedom that Republicans are ripping away from people across the country.
“We’re going to show the country how Republican policies hurt everyone.
“We’re going to expose Republicans’ radical—and unpopular—views on everything from abortion to family planning to sex ed.
“We’re going to make clear who is hurt most by their extremism.
“This fight didn’t end when Republicans blocked the Women’s Health Protection Act last week. Far from it.
“People across the country are fed up with Republicans’ attacks on their rights. They are fired up and fighting back.
“Well, so am I. And so are my Democratic colleagues.
“Thank you.”
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