Patty Murray Accuses GOP Of Inflicting 'Trauma' On Women Through Their 'Anti-Abortion Crusade'

6 months ago

At a Senate Health Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) blasted Republicans over their 'anti-abortion crusade.'

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Chairman Sanders, thank you so much for your statement and thank you for letting

00:05me chair today's hearing on a topic that is deeply important to me and I want to

00:11thank all of our witnesses for joining us here today. Today we take a close

00:16accounting of the trauma Republicans are inflicting on women and families across

00:22our country and the damage they are doing to basic reproductive health care

00:27through their horrific anti-abortion crusade. The issue here is simple and it

00:33cuts to the core of American values, freedom. Many women every day experience

00:40the joy of becoming pregnant and raising a family. They were able to make that

00:45decision for themselves but no woman, no one should be dragged through a

00:50pregnancy against their will but right now in America more than a third of

00:55women of reproductive age live in states where they essentially do not

01:01have the choice to end a pregnancy if they need to. Instead Republicans have

01:06made the choice for them with extreme abortion bans and cruel restrictions on

01:12access to care. With these policies they have told women in no uncertain terms

01:17you don't control your body, we do. That is horrifying. Think about what it means,

01:23what it really means to be told someone else can decide you have to stay

01:29pregnant no matter the circumstances. Think about how little power that gives

01:34a woman over her own life and her own health and think about how much power

01:40that gives not just politicians but any man who knows he can get a woman

01:45pregnant, force her to stay pregnant so he can control over her or even get

01:51revenge for the rest of her life. To every Republican who hopes this issue

01:56will go away or is hoping the post-obs reality will become settled status quo,

02:02listen, you never forget and you never just get used to someone else taking

02:08control of your body, your medical decisions, your plans for your family or

02:12your future. You never forget a politician rescinding your right to make

02:18decisions about something as personal as your own pregnancy and imposing his

02:23will instead especially when you live with the consequences every day and the

02:30consequences of the post-obs abortion bans are so much broader and so much

02:35more devastating than any one story or hearing can ever do justice. There are

02:41stories that get a lot of attention that are shocking almost beyond belief. Stories

02:47of women denied care for a miscarriage because of abortion bans. Women turned

02:53away from hospitals because their doctor's hands were tied until they lost

02:58over half of their blood, until their husband found them unconscious, until

03:03the only option was an emergency hysterectomy or tragically until it was

03:09simply too late. Or stories of children who can't get abortion care after being

03:15raped. Some kids may be able to get across state lines to get the care they

03:19need. Other children have been forced into motherhood by Republican

03:23politicians. One teenager delivered a baby while clutching a teddy bear. These

03:29nightmares are happening across our country as a direct result of Republican

03:34abortion bans and there are so many other stories that go untold. Women do

03:42not want to be pregnant for what, women who do not want to be pregnant for

03:45whatever reason, maybe they can't afford to have another child right now. Maybe

03:49they are in an abusive relationship. Maybe they just don't want a kid

03:54right now, period. But they are told by politicians they have no say in the

04:00matter. Not unless they have the time and resources, often thousands of dollars, to

04:05travel, in some cases hundreds and hundreds of miles. It is harrowing, if

04:14they can fix that.

04:27It is harrowing to think that we live in a reality where forced pregnancy has

04:35become so widespread and so rampant that only the most dystopian stories get

04:43national attention. But the stories of all the other women who are confronted

04:49by these bans, their pain, their heartbreak, their anger and fears are also

04:56horrific, valid, and an important part of the conversation. A forced pregnancy does

05:03not have to make headlines to make someone's life a living hell. And let's

05:07be clear about a few more things before we get started. Republican attacks are

05:12not only hurting people in the states where they banned abortion, they are not

05:16only hurting women who need an abortion, and their attacks on our rights are not

05:21stopping at an abortion. When it comes to states like mine where abortion is legal,

05:26providers are being stretched beyond capacity by women in desperate need of

05:31abortion care they can no longer get at their home. So when it comes to women who

05:36aren't even seeking an abortion, bans are hollowing out health care for women in

05:42general, especially for those who already face some of the biggest challenges

05:46getting care. Women of color, indigenous women, those in rural communities. Because

05:52in a surprise to no one, health care providers do not want to work in states

05:56where politicians get between a doctor and their patient and threaten providers

06:01with jail time and the loss of their medical license if they dare to help

06:05patients get the care they need. So in states with extreme abortion bans, we are

06:10seeing health care providers closing their doors and shutting down their

06:15practices, new doctors staying away, and fewer options for patients to get a

06:20whole range of necessary health care services. The consequences extend far

06:26beyond abortion. And when it comes to what is next, well Republicans have

06:32already made it painfully clear they want a national abortion plan. And no

06:36matter what they're saying now, we can just look at the record. Look at how many

06:40Republicans have co-sponsored national abortion bans. Look at the Life at

06:47Conception Act. That is a bill that is supported by more than half of the

06:51House Republican Conference that would enshrine fetal personhood nationwide.

06:57Let's be clear what that would mean. Not just an abortion ban, it would mean that

07:02women and doctors will be charged with murder for an abortion, making them

07:07eligible for the death penalty in their states. It would mean emergency

07:11contraception like Plan B outlawed. And it would mean IVF ripped away from

07:17people who are trying to start a family. This is not theoretical. We saw how much

07:24chaos this dangerously extreme ideology already caused for families in Alabama.

07:29And yet there are Republican states and Republican members of Congress, including

07:34the Speaker of the House, who support making fetal personhood the law of the

07:40land. That is extreme in the extreme. But in the face of all this horror, we've

07:46also seen an outcry from women and men who refuse to let Republicans keep

07:51dragging our nation backwards and stripping away our basic rights. Every

07:57time abortion rights have been on the ballot since Dobbs, every single time

08:03abortion rights have won. People are standing up and they're speaking out and

08:08Democrats are proud to stand with them. Democrats are going to make sure women's

08:14voices are heard in our nation's capital, including at hearings like this one. And

08:19we're going to keep fighting to pass the Women's Health Protection Act and

08:23restore the basic and fundamental right of women to control their own bodies.

08:28While former President Trump continues to brag about how he overturned Roe and

08:33made clear he will go even farther to restrict and ban abortion if given the

08:37chance, Democrats have been clear. With a pro-choice majority in the House and

08:42Senate and Joe Biden in the White House, we will restore and protect abortion

08:48rights for every woman in America. Thank you. And with that, I look forward to

08:54hearing from all of our witnesses, but first I will turn it over.

Patty Murray Accuses GOP Of Inflicting 'Trauma' On Women Through Their 'Anti-Abortion Crusade'

Category

Transcript

Recommended