March 9, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 45 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E277-E278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ABORTION RIGHTS AND JUNE MEDICAL SERVICES LLC V. RUSSO

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 9, 2020

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, Congresswoman 
Lawrence of Michigan for anchoring this very important Special Order to 
affirm our unequivocal opposition to any effort to turn the clock back 
or to limit or undermine women's right to make their own choices 
regarding their reproductive healthcare.
  The United States Supreme Court ruled over 40 years ago, in Roe v. 
Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)), that a woman's constitutional right to 
privacy includes her right to abortion.
  Since this landmark decision, abortion rates and risks have 
substantially declined, as have the number of teen and unwanted 
pregnancies.
  Restricting all access to reproductive and women's health services 
only exacerbates a woman's risk of an unintended pregnancy and fails to 
accomplish any meaningful overthrow of Roe v. Wade.
  In recent years, state policymakers have passed hundreds of 
restrictions on abortion care under the guise of protecting women's 
health and safety. Fights here in Congress have been no different.
  In my state of Texas, a law that would have cut off access to 75 
percent of reproductive healthcare clinics in the state was challenged 
before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 and 2015.
  On October 2, 2014, the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional 
a Texas law that required that all reproductive healthcare clinics that 
provided the full range of services would be required to have a 
hospital-style surgery center building and staffing requirements.
  This requirement meant that only 7 clinics would be allowed to 
continue to provide a full spectrum of reproductive healthcare to 
women.
  Texas has 268,580 square miles only second in size to the state of 
California.
  The impact of the law in implementation would have ended access to 
reproductive services for millions of women in my state.
  In 2015, the State of Texas once again threatened women's access to 
reproductive health care when it attempted to shutter all but 10 
healthcare providers in the state of Texas.
  The Supreme Court once again intervened on behalf of Texas women to 
block the move to close clinics in my state.
  It seems every month we are faced with a new attack on women's access 
to reproductive health care, often couched in those same terms.
  If opponents were so concerned about women's health and safety, they 
would be promoting any one of the number of evidence-based proactive 
policies that improve women's health and well-being.
  Instead, they are continuing their assault on women's constitutional 
rights and their campaign to outlaw abortion.
  That is their number one priority; it is certainly not about 
protecting women's health, it is about politics.
  The consequences of these efforts are often felt most acutely by 
people who already face barriers to care, including communities of 
color, young people, LGBTQ people, and people with low incomes.
  For the first time since Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch 
were seated on the Supreme Court, and this morning the Court heard oral 
arguments in June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, a case that could 
render the protections of Roe v. Wade virtually meaningless, paving the 
way for states to effectively ban abortion for over 25 million people 
of reproductive age.

[[Page E278]]

  During 2019 state legislative sessions alone, more than 300 anti-
abortion bills were introduced, and 58 restrictions were enacted--
nearly half of which were abortion bans.
  Right now, six states are pushing for anti-abortion constitutional 
amendments.
  There are five states in the nation that already have only one 
abortion provider.
  This President has packed the courts in unprecedented and 
extraordinary ways.
  Nearly 200 Trump-appointed judges now occupy lifetime positions on 
the federal bench, many with extreme records hostile to reproductive 
health and rights, and are poised to make decisions about our 
reproductive rights and health for a generation.
  And these fights go beyond abortion.
  The administration's domestic gag rule forced Planned Parenthood and 
other health care providers out of Title X, the nation's only program 
dedicated to affordable birth control and other reproductive health 
care.
  The move jeopardized health care for Title X's four million patients, 
40 percent of whom received care at Planned Parenthood health centers 
prior to the rule.
  Last month, the administration approved Texas' request to implement a 
Medicaid family planning program that bars patients from accessing care 
at Planned Parenthood.
  When Texas first barred Planned Parenthood from serving patients, 
nearly 40 percent fewer women got the health care they needed.
  This sets a dangerous precedent for other states, which could now 
pursue similar state-level measures with grim consequences for health 
care access nationwide.
  Madam Speaker, this is not what the American people want.
  Support for abortion access is at an all-time high; nearly 80 percent 
of Americans do not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned.
  There is no state in the nation where making abortion illegal is 
popular.
  The American people want more access to health care, not less, and it 
is more critical than ever to see through this inflammatory 
misinformation campaign.
  Madam Speaker, the right to make decisions about reproductive health 
care, including abortion, is central to individual equality.
  The right enables a person to decide if, when, and how to start and 
grow their family.
  It enables people to pursue and advance in their education and 
employment, and to be full and equal participants in society.
  Laws that restrict reproductive freedom, including restrictions on 
abortion and birth control, perpetuate harmful stereotypes about gender 
roles and undermine gender equality.
  Courts, federal law, and the public have long connected reproductive 
freedom with equality.
  Reproductive freedom is central to women's equality, for as the 
Supreme Court said in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, ``The ability of 
women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the 
Nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their 
reproductive lives.''
  Americans understand this connection and it is reflected in a January 
2019 national poll showing 71 percent of voters agree--48 percent agree 
strongly--that equal rights for women includes access to reproductive 
health care.

                          ____________________