Senator Murray Responds to Fifth Circuit Allowing Texas to Ban Emergency Abortion Care Despite Federal Guidance

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement after the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the U.S. government cannot enforce federal guidance in Texas requiring emergency room doctors to perform abortions if necessary to stabilize emergency room patients.

“This is a horrifying and astonishingly dangerous decision from a court that has shown repeatedly they have absolutely no regard for women’s lives or understanding of the realities of pregnancy. We’re seeing far-right judges working to deny women emergency abortion care even when their lives are in danger.

“Every American should be outraged at the never-ending crusade by Republicans to force women to stay pregnant no matter what—the bottom line is that we need a pro-choice majority in Congress that will restore Roe and every woman’s right to abortion and stop politicians from interfering in private health care decisions that should be made by women and their doctors.” 

Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and abortion rights, and she has led Congressional efforts to fight since the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Murray led her colleagues at the very 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. 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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