'We Cannot Rely On The Supreme Court': Jacky Rosen Urges Support For Contraception Access Bill

6 months ago

During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) spoke about the Right to Contraception Act which will is scheduled to be voted on in the Senate later today.

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Transcript

00:00 Mr. President, the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, it was a wake-up call for all Americans.

00:08 It demonstrated that a fundamental right, the right of women to make decisions over their own bodies,

00:14 could be taken away in the blink of an eye, in the blink of an eye, by anti-choice extremists.

00:22 And since that decision nearly two years ago, we've seen countless attacks on women's reproductive freedoms across our nation.

00:32 We're seeing anti-choice states enact rigid abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest.

00:40 States that are forcing emergency room doctors to call their lawyers before treating women who are going through a miscarriage,

00:49 are having one of the most awful days of their lives.

00:52 In states like Alabama, they've even threatened IVF.

00:57 These restrictive attacks are meant to control what women can and can't do with their bodies.

01:03 I'm going to repeat that. These restrictive attacks are meant to control women, what they can and can't do with their bodies.

01:11 They're meant to dictate to women their family planning decisions.

01:16 And they want to put extreme politicians between women and their doctors.

01:22 The last two years have made it crystal clear.

01:26 We cannot, we cannot rely on the Supreme Court alone to protect our access to care.

01:33 We know overturning Roe was just the beginning.

01:37 If extreme anti-choice politicians and activists, well, if they have their way, access to birth control is next.

01:47 Contraception has been safely used by millions of women for decades.

01:53 It's allowed women to take control over their own bodies, to decide when they want to start a family, how many kids they want to have, who they want to start a family with.

02:05 And for these very same reasons, the right to contraception has been a target of anti-choice extremists for years.

02:15 So let me be clear.

02:17 Overturning the right to contraception would be catastrophic in a post-Roe world.

02:23 It would mean that women in states with the most restrictive abortion bans would have zero ability, zero ability at all to make any decisions over their own bodies.

02:33 They'd have no ability to prevent an unplanned pregnancy or get the care they need.

02:38 Women would have zero ability to get the care they need or prevent a pregnancy.

02:44 And this isn't just hypothetical.

02:46 The Supreme Court has clearly demonstrated that it will not hesitate, they will not hesitate to reverse landmark decisions and take away women's reproductive freedoms.

02:57 That's why my colleagues and I introduced the Right to Contraception Act.

03:02 To codify women's constitutional right to make family planning decisions.

03:08 And this bill will do exactly what is in the name.

03:12 It will just guarantee the right for women to access and to use birth control.

03:20 It will guarantee the right for women to have access to contraception.

03:25 Later today, we're going to have an opportunity to pass this important legislation.

03:31 And I urge everyone in this chamber to allow this bill to move forward and prevent extreme politicians from getting in the way of women's reproductive choices.

03:42 To prevent extreme politicians from taking control over women's bodies.

03:47 To prevent extreme politicians from being in your doctor's office.

03:52 And if we fail to act, the Supreme Court could roll our rights back once again.

03:59 And every woman across this country will suffer from our inaction today.

04:08 Thank you. I yield the floor.

'We Cannot Rely On The Supreme Court': Jacky Rosen Urges Support For Contraception Access Bill

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