JUST IN: Senate Democrats Speak In Support Of 'Reproductive Freedom For Women' Act

2 months ago

During remarks on the Senate floor, Senate Democrats expressed support for Reproductive Freedom For Women Act.

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

00:00Madam President. The junior senator from Hawaii. Madam President, I ask unanimous

00:05consent that the following senators be recognized to speak prior to the

00:11scheduled roll call vote. Hirono for up to 10 minutes, Stabenow for up to 5

00:16minutes, Klobuchar for up to 10 minutes, Murray for up to 5 minutes, Schumer for

00:21up to 5 minutes. Further, that the mandatory quorum call with respect to

00:26the Klobuchar vote and the motion to proceed to calendar number 420S4554

00:33be waived. Finally, that the Klobuchar motion with respect to the Kiko

00:38nomination be withdrawn and at a time to be determined by the majority leader in

00:44consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate vote on confirmation of the

00:48Kiko nomination. Is there objection? Without objection, so ordered. Madam

00:56President. The junior senator from Hawaii. After Dobbs came down, we worried

01:03about what a post-Dobbs America would look like. Would other reproductive

01:09freedoms be attacked and stripped away piece by piece across the country? Now, two

01:17years later, we know the answer is yes. In Dobbs, the Supreme Court, quote, returned

01:23the issue of abortion to the states, quote, and eliminated a constitutional

01:29right women in our country had relied on for nearly 50 years. We often refer to

01:36the states as laboratories of democracy. Sadly, these laboratories are now

01:43experimenting on women with dystopian results. This hellish experimentation has

01:51resulted in devastating consequences for women and families across the

01:57country who are now subject to state-imposed abortion bans. As a result

02:03of over 20 states enacting abortion bans, some without exception for rape or

02:10incest, women all over our country are being forced to travel far distances for

02:16abortion care, or worse, to continue pregnancies regardless of the risks.

02:21Their stories are horrifying. Stories like that of Kate Cox, a mother of two in

02:29Texas whose pregnancy was threatening her life and her ability to have more

02:34children in the future. Despite her deteriorating physical condition, Texas

02:39officials ruled that she wasn't sick enough to get an abortion. Forcing her to

02:46travel out of state to receive the life-saving care she needed. While Kate

02:52has the ability to travel, so many other women in her condition do not and are

02:58forced to suffer the unimaginable consequences of Republicans' obsession

03:04with power and control. What's more, health care workers in states with

03:10abortion bans are living under a constant threat of criminal prosecution.

03:17When patients in states with abortion bans present with signs of a miscarriage,

03:24doctors are unable to provide emergency treatment, going against their legal and

03:29professional duty of care and years of expert training. As a result, many of

03:36these providers are fleeing their practices, contributing to reproductive

03:41health care deserts all across the country. The cruelty of DOBS has also

03:48resulted in an increase in infant mortality in states with abortion bans,

03:54as women are forced to carry fetuses with fatal birth defects to term. Let's

04:01be clear, abortion bans aren't about protecting anyone. They're about the

04:07right's obsession with power and control, plain and simple. But while Republicans

04:14continue their march toward a nationwide abortion ban, they refuse to be honest

04:19with the American people. Time after time, Republicans have come to this floor

04:24insisting that they support women's health, only to turn around and vote

04:30against bill after bill that would do just that. Despite their rhetoric, they

04:36voted en masse against the right to contraception, the right to IVF, and have

04:42consistently blocked any effort in this chamber to protect women's fundamental

04:48rights. But still, my Republican colleagues insist they stand with women,

04:53and today they have the opportunity to put their money where their mouths are.

04:57The Reproductive Freedom for Women Act is straightforward. It simply expresses

05:03support for protecting access to reproductive health care. The bill is one

05:09page long and does not codify, row, or enact any policy changes. This should be

05:15a no-brainer for anyone who actually supports women and our right to control

05:20our own bodies. But if passed this prologue, it is safe to say Republicans

05:26will vote against this bill today, only to insist tomorrow that they are the

05:32Party of Freedom. Give me a break. Democrats, meanwhile, are determined to

05:38restore, protect, and strengthen reproductive rights. And we will not stop

05:43fighting until we succeed in this. That is why today I am proud to stand with my

05:52fellow Democrats in voting for the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act to

05:56support reproductive rights and health care for all.

06:03Madam President, I yield.

06:07Madam President. Senator from Michigan. Thank you, Madam President. I'm really

06:23proud to be joining the senior senator from Hawaii and other colleagues that

06:30will be coming to the floor to talk about such an important topic and bill

06:36as the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act. We know that for 50 years,

06:43Roe v. Wade protected our freedom to make our own health care decisions. Then

06:50two years ago, it was gone. I can't believe that today's young women,

06:56including my daughter and granddaughters, have fewer freedoms than their mothers

07:03and their grandmothers did. And frankly, Madam President, we're furious in

07:09Michigan. Want to know just how furious? Well, in Michigan, we turned our anger

07:14into action, and in November of 2022, we had the largest voter turnout for a

07:21midterm election ever. And one of the measures on the ballot enshrined a right

07:30to reproductive freedom in our Michigan Constitution. And it passed by a strong

07:3813-point margin because Michiganders understand that health care decisions

07:46should be made by individual women, not by judges, not by politicians, and by the

07:53way, we hear all the time on the other side that it's a debate between, should

07:58it be federal politicians or state politicians? Neither. Neither. This is

08:05about individuals having the freedom to make their own health care decisions, and

08:12I can't believe we have to debate this in 2024 in America. But a lot of folks

08:19just haven't gotten the message yet. Today, 22 states now have near total

08:27bans or severe restrictions on abortion services. And that means one out of three

08:33women now live under extreme or dangerous abortion bans. And we know

08:41who's to blame for this because they brag about it all the time.

08:45Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And since the fall of Roe, Republicans

08:52have continued their assault on access to contraception, on IVF, a choice for

08:58those who desperately want a baby and need some additional help from science

09:06to help make that happen, to severe and total restrictions on abortion services.

09:14Unfortunately, MAGA Republicans want total control of our lives and total

09:22control of our fundamental freedoms. Last month, Democrats acted to protect

09:29these freedoms for women. And unfortunately, every time we brought

09:35bills to the Senate floor, Republicans blocked them. And unfortunately, we know

09:43that they won't stop there. We know that the Republican Party, if they have their

09:54way, will create a national abortion ban, which means Michigan's constitutional

10:00protections that people worked very hard to achieve, hundreds of thousands of

10:07signatures, working hard, voting to put this protection for our freedoms into

10:14the Michigan Constitution, will all be ripped away if that happens. Imagine what

10:21this would mean for a woman who learns that the pregnancy she desperately wants

10:26is not viable and her own life is at risk. This is actually happening,

10:33unfortunately, all the time right now in the states that have severe restrictions.

10:40And I will never forget hearing a woman talking about her own experience of

10:47being told she wasn't close to death enough to get care in the emergency

10:53room. She had to go out and sit in your car until she was so close to death that

10:59they felt they could treat her. Doctors are now talking to their attorney before

11:07they're talking to other doctors or women and their families and so on. And

11:13we're seeing so many things happen, so many things now. We've already seen one

11:19study showing in Texas that there's been an 8% increase in infant mortality. That

11:25means children don't live until their first birthday because something has

11:30happened. So who decides what happens to someone in that situation? The woman

11:42supported by her family and her doctor or a right-wing Supreme Court and

11:49Republicans in the United States Senate or any other elected body. Today we have

11:57an incredibly important vote. It will tell us where every single member of

12:04this chamber stands. Do you think that women should have the basic freedom to

12:10make decisions about our own health? That anyone should have the freedom to make

12:16their decisions about their own health? It's as simple as that. We know where we

12:23stand. We're working every day to defend our freedoms, to make decisions about our

12:31own health care, to make sure it's not a politician, it's not a judge, that it's

12:37women, their faith, their family, their doctors, that people who are directly

12:42involved are making those decisions. The women of this country should have the

12:49freedom to make our own decisions about our own health care, our own lives, and

12:53our own futures. That's what this vote is about. And we're not going to give up

13:00until we have those freedoms fully protected. I would urge colleagues to

13:06pass the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act. I would yield the floor. Thank you.

13:12Madam President. Senator from Minnesota. Madam President, I join my colleague from

13:17Michigan and all of the other senators who have spoken out on this topic today

13:24to say that now is the time to protect women's reproductive freedom. I thank

13:31Leader Schumer for organizing this group of senators, and I thank Senator Murray

13:36for her work on this. I thank you as our newest senator for being part of this. A

13:42few weeks ago, America marked two years since the Supreme Court overturned half

13:49a century of precedent and stripped away every woman's right to make her own

13:55health care decisions going against the 70 to 80 percent of Americans who

14:00believe that this decision should be made by a woman and her family and her

14:05doctor and not by politicians. And no, they don't want our colleagues sitting

14:11in the waiting room. In the wake of that disastrous decision, women across the

14:16country remain at the mercy of a patchwork of state laws that are

14:21creating chaos when it comes to accessing reproductive health care. Today,

14:2622 states have passed laws to fully or partially ban abortion, and one-third of

14:31women of reproductive age live under extreme and dangerous bans. For instance,

14:37just two weeks ago in our neighboring state of Iowa, right below Minnesota, the

14:42state Supreme Court allowed a six-week abortion ban to take effect. You couple

14:48that with what's going on in South Dakota and North Dakota, and you

14:51understand why in Minnesota clinics have moved across the border. That's what's

14:58happening in every state in this nation right now. In states across the country,

15:04women are also being forced away from emergency rooms and left to travel

15:09hundreds of miles for health care. I think of the woman in Oklahoma who was

15:14told that she needed to wait in the parking lot until she was much sicker, or

15:18as the doctor put it, on the verge of a heart attack. I also think of the woman

15:25from Louisiana who was turned away from two emergency rooms during a miscarriage

15:30because the doctors feared prosecution for providing care under stringent

15:35abortion laws. And I'll never, I don't think any of us will ever forget the

15:41heartbreaking story of the ten-year-old girl in Ohio who had to go to Indiana in

15:46order to get a legal abortion after she was raped. A ten-year-old girl. People

15:53didn't believe the story. Remember that? And then it turned out it was completely

15:57true. They said it was a hoax. It wasn't. It's what's happening right now in

16:04America. Doctors are being threatened with prosecution for doing their jobs, and

16:10access to fertility treatment is at risk for families who are desperately trying

16:14to get pregnant. Like many of my colleagues, I did a series of Fourth of

16:19July parades over the last week. I think I did eight of them. And in nearly every

16:25parade, someone came up with their child, a little baby, sometimes more grown up,

16:31and said she wouldn't be here, he wouldn't be here without IVF. But right

16:38now, all of those things that we have expected for so long are at risk. Access

16:44to contraception, access to abortion drugs that are safe in dozens of

16:50countries. Because while the Supreme Court gave us a temporary reprieve in

16:55the MIFA-Pristone case, we know that a number of other states are now gearing

17:00up to bring similar lawsuits because that was just thrown out based on a

17:05legal requirement, a legal standing for who could bring the case, not actually on

17:11the merits. This is our current reality, but it doesn't have to be our future.

17:18This is a pivotal moment for America. Are we going to move forward and protect

17:24freedom, which has long been a hallmark of our nation? Or are we going to go

17:29further backwards in history? Not just to the 1950s, but to the 1850s. The Supreme

17:37Court's decision threatens women's health and freedom, no matter where you

17:42live in this country, and it demands a swift response. All three branches of

17:47government have a responsibility to protect people's rights, and if one

17:51branch doesn't do its job, then it's up to another to step in. That means it's on

17:56Congress to codify Roe v. Wade into law. Every American woman should be able to

18:03get the care she needs without navigating unnecessary bans, and the

18:07choice of whether and when to start a family should be just that. While we are

18:13here today, I also see Senator Murray is on the floor, and I want to thank her for

18:18organizing yesterday's group of speakers on important legislation related to

18:23reproductive freedom. In addition to codifying Roe v. Wade into law, we need

18:28to pass other common-sense measures, like my bill, the Uphold Privacy Act,

18:34which we tried to move forward thanks to Senator Murray yesterday, unfortunately

18:39was blocked. This bill sets limits on how companies can use people's health data.

18:44This is particularly important following recent troubling reports of companies

18:50collecting and sharing data related to reproductive health care. Just this year,

18:55we learned that a company allegedly tracked people's visits to nearly 600

18:59Planned Parenthood locations across the country and provided that data for an

19:04anti-abortion ad campaign. That is just wrong. No one can believe that is

19:11happening today in America, but it is. And with women's right to reproductive care

19:17under attack, it is even more dangerous. That's why enacting common-sense limits

19:22on how companies can use people's personal data is so critical right now.

19:27All of this comes down to one question. Who should get to make personal health

19:33care decisions for women? The woman herself, her doctor, family, consultation,

19:40or a politician that she's never going to meet, that isn't going to be looking

19:45out for her? To me, the answer is clear. As our country enters its third year

19:51without Roe v. Wade, I continue to stand with my colleagues in the fight for

19:56reproductive freedom. We stand on the side of the American people who have come

20:00together time and time again. In Kentucky, where they voted for a governor who is

20:05standing up for reproductive health care. In Kansas, in the middle of the prairie

20:12where no one expected it, the first real test of this, where Democrats and

20:16Republicans voted on the side of freedom. In Ohio, in a referendum whereby 11

20:23points, the people of Ohio stood up for freedom. Or in the legislative races in

20:30Virginia. Or in a congressional race in Long Island. Or in the Wisconsin Supreme

20:37Court race. The message is clear where the American people are. This isn't about

20:45red states or blue states. Think of the states that I just listed. This is about

20:52freedom. So we refuse to back down. We refuse to give up. We refuse to settle

20:58for a reality in which our daughters have fewer rights than their mothers and

21:02grandmothers. This may be our reality right now, but colleagues, it does not

21:08have to be our future. Madam President, I yield the floor.

21:18Senator from Washington. Thank you, Madam President. Today we are going to vote on

21:24a bill that offers a simple statement of values. Do you support a woman's freedom

21:31to make her own health care decisions? For the vast majority of Americans, the

21:38answer is yes, without question. We know that because the American people have

21:44been speaking out loudly and repeatedly and at every opportunity to oppose

21:50Republicans' extreme abortion bans. The record here is remarkable and

21:56unmistakable. Since Trump and Republicans succeeded at overturning Roe v. Wade and

22:03ripping away a constitutional right from our daughters and granddaughters, every

22:09single time abortion rights have been on the ballot, abortion rights have won

22:15every time. But the American people have not just been speaking with their own

22:22votes, they have been using their voices and sharing their own personal stories

22:28of the nightmares that Republican abortion bans have put them through.

22:33Women denied medical care for a miscarriage because of abortion bans.

22:39Women turned away from hospitals because their doctor's hands were tied until

22:45they lost over half of their blood, until their husband found them

22:49unconscious on the floor, until the only option was an emergency hysterectomy, or

22:56tragically, until it was simply too late. Children who couldn't get abortion care

23:04after being raped. A teenager delivering a baby clutching a teddy bear forced

23:11through pregnancy by Republican politicians. This isn't some dystopian

23:17prediction. This has all happened recently in the United States of America

23:24because of Donald Trump and Republicans anti-abortion extremism. Just last month

23:31the New York Times profiled the story of one mother in Idaho who woke up with

23:37heavy bleeding in her 20th week of pregnancy. She was leaking amniotic fluid.

23:43She went to the emergency room. She was told nothing they could do to help her.

23:51Sorry. Because of Idaho's extreme abortion ban, it meant that any doctor

23:57who gave her the abortion care she so desperately needed would be risking

24:02their loss of their medical license and jail time and heavy fines. The best they

24:08could do was give her an emergency flight to another state, and when she

24:13arrived, nurses remembered her saying, I just need to stay alive so I can be

24:18around for my two other kids. That same hospital in Idaho has already had to

24:25airlift six pregnant women out of the state for emergency abortion

24:30care this year. Madam President, that's just one hospital in one state and one

24:37horrific variation of the many nightmares that are happening on loop

24:41across the country as a direct result of the Republican abortion bans. And Madam

24:48President, I'm going to keep saying it. A forced pregnancy does not have to make

24:52headlines to make someone's life a living hell. This is not an issue that

24:58Republicans can run away from, no matter how much they try to. Donald Trump, a

25:03convicted felon and a liar, is trying to tell us he doesn't know anything about

25:09Project 2025. That is the playbook that has been written by some of his top

25:14advisors for him. He may as well be saying he has no idea who named Trump

25:19Tower. We all know Donald Trump ended Roe v. Wade. We all know Republicans

25:28championed that for decades, and we know that Trump will absolutely ban abortion

25:35nationwide. Republicans do not get to pretend they support the health of a

25:40mother while ignoring the horror stories happening today across the

25:45country and urging the Supreme Court to rule against ensuring abortion is

25:51available in emergencies. Republicans do not get to pretend that they support IVF

25:58and birth control while championing a national fetal personhood bill and

26:04voting down bills to protect the right to IVF and birth control.

26:09Republicans do not get to pretend they only want state politicians controlling

26:15women's most personal decisions while supporting national abortion bans,

26:20including the fetal personhood bill I just mentioned, supporting efforts to

26:25strike down access to medication abortion nationwide, blocking efforts to

26:32protect women who might travel out of state for care, and even blocking

26:37protections for doctors in states like mine where abortion is legal. And I

26:43cannot stress enough how transparently unserious it is for Trump and

26:49Republicans to pretend they are somehow returning abortion to the people, when in

26:55reality they are doing the exact opposite. Republicans are giving

27:00politicians power that once belonged to an individual, an individual woman,

27:07letting politicians force women to stay pregnant, and they're trying to sell that

27:12as giving people a bigger voice in this issue. Do Republicans really think

27:17Americans are that stupid? Do Republicans really think they can take

27:21away a constitutional right and convince us it is a win for freedom? That is

27:28insulting. Here's an idea. You want to really give the people a say on abortion?

27:33How about you let each person decide with their doctor what's right for them?

27:39How's that for small government? How's that for letting people decide? Madam

27:46President, if Republicans really want to let people make their own decisions on

27:51abortions, that's news for me. It would certainly be news to the countless women

27:55who've had that choice ripped away from them by Republican politicians over the

28:01past two years. But they have a chance to prove it right here, today, right now, when

28:06we vote on my Reproductive Freedom for Women Act. This is a plain, up-or-down

28:12vote on whether you support women being able to make their own reproductive

28:18health care decisions. It doesn't force anything. It doesn't cost anything. It's

28:23actually just a half-page bill simply saying that women should have the basic

28:28freedom to make their own decisions about their health care. Seriously, that

28:33is it. Simple as it gets. If you care at all, even the tiniest bit, about protecting

28:40women's access to health care and allowing women to make their own

28:44decisions about their pregnancies, you should support this bill. Now, make no

28:50mistake, I'm not holding my breath here today, but I am going to be holding

28:54Republicans accountable. Donald Trump is trying to rewrite his abortion record,

29:00but I will not let him or anyone else off the hook. If Republicans are going to

29:06force women to stay pregnant, we are going to force them to be honest with

29:13the American people about their extreme position. And by the way, Democrats are

29:18going to keep fighting to restore the rights the American people have been so

29:22clear that they want back. Thank you, Madam President. I yield the floor.

29:30First, let me thank the Senator from Washington State, the

29:35Senate Pro Tem, President Pro Tem, for her amazing leadership on this issue.

29:40She's the lead sponsor of the legislation and on so many other issues

29:45across the spectrum, but particularly on women's rights and women's health care.

29:49Note, there's no more clarion-stronger voice than the Senator from Washington,

29:53so I thank her for that. Now, today, Madam President, Senate Republicans must answer

30:00a simple question. Do they believe that women should have the right to make

30:04their own health care choices, yes or no? The Reproductive Freedom for Women Act is

30:10exceedingly simple. All it does is express support for a woman's right to

30:16choose. That's it. No more, no less. It should be an easy yes vote. My Republican

30:24colleagues have a choice. Vote yes and stand with women who want their rights

30:28protected, or stand with Donald Trump and MAGA radicals who want to see those

30:33rights taken away. We know where the American people stand on the freedom of

30:38choice. Over 80 percent of Americans, including two-thirds of Republicans,

30:42agree that health care decisions, including abortion, should be between a

30:47woman and her doctor. But Americans are rightfully worried that reproductive

30:51rights are becoming extinct in this country. They see what's happening at the

30:55Supreme Court. They see the attacks on women's rights in states like Texas and

31:00Florida and Alabama and Idaho and beyond. The American people want to know where

31:06their senators stand on freedom of choice. By voting on reproductive

31:12freedoms, we are moving forward because it's very important and very reasonable

31:17for members to be asked to take a position on such a vital issue. If

31:21Senate Republicans genuinely trust women to make their own

31:26reproductive choices, then they should not block this bill today. And I want to

31:31tell our Republican colleagues, the American people are watching how we vote.

31:36You can run, but you can't hide. All of America is going to know whether you're

31:41for women's reproductive rights or not by this vote. No excuses. This is it.

31:51The American people want to see who will defend their fundamental freedoms

31:56and who will not. Again, let me thank Senator Murray for leading this bill. Let

32:01me thank every female senator on our side of the aisle for co-sponsoring it

32:05along with me. We need a yes vote and I ask for the yeas and nays.

JUST IN: Senate Democrats Speak In Support Of 'Reproductive Freedom For Women' Act

Category

Transcript

Recommended