Late Sunday night, Senator Elizabeth Warren took to the Senate floor to speak in defense of abortion rights and against the impending confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court. In a fervent speech lasting nearly an hour, the entirety of which you can watch below, Senator Warren laid into Barrett’s refusal to answer basic questions during her confirmation hearing. “But what the nominee refused to say was actually very informative. She refused to say whether the ruling upholding the right to contraception was correct. She refused to say if the government could criminalize a same-sex relationship. She refused to say whether it’s wrong to separate children from their parents in order to deter immigration. She even refused to say if climate change is happening and whether it poses a threat to human beings.”

 

Senator Warren continued with an impassioned defense of the right to abortion care. “'The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When Government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.' Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that 30 years ago, at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing. She understood that reproductive freedom is foundational to equality, and critical to women’s health and economic security. Without access to high-quality reproductive health care — including contraception and safe, legal abortion — we cannot have true equality.”

Senator Warren went on to share the stories of people who needed abortion care, all under different circumstances. The stories are heart wrenching and well worth a listen. She concluded her speech with a promise. “The Senate has no business taking up a vote on a Supreme Court justice who has already committed to take away health care from millions of people and to take away Roe v. Wade and its protection for millions of women. We may not have the votes to stop them, but that does not change the fact that what Senate republicans are doing is wrong. We will continue to fight it. We’ll fight it now in the Senate. And we will fight it come Election Day November 3rd.”

 

Yes, we will, Senator Warren. Yes, we will.

 

Watch Senator Warren Here

 

- Gina Loukareas, A is For Co-Founder and Board Vice President