Just minutes before midnight on Wednesday, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 against taking action to stop a devastating new Texas law from going into effect. The law bans abortion for Texas women after six weeks of pregnancy (a period during which many are not even aware they are pregnant) and gives legal standing to anti-abortion activists or any private citizen to sue health care providers or individuals “aiding and abetting” a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy in the state.

This Orwellian law not only effectively overturns a woman’s legal right to make her own reproductive choices, it opens the door to unprecedented state-sanctioned vigilante enforcement of this ban — even offering eligibility for a $10,000 bounty, plus legal fees, to each successful plaintiff who takes action against an “aider and abetter.”

This dark day has been coming for some time. That’s why when I served in the Maryland state legislature we took decisive action to codify the right to choose as a matter of Maryland law to protect women in our state from the shifting politics of the Supreme Court. But Texas women live in a different world. Their leaders have been plotting for years with the right-wingers on the Court to find new ways to limit their right to choose. The impact of this law will be felt disproportionately by low income communities and those with the least access to resources and support networks. And after Texas, Florida and other states will likely follow suit.

I will do everything in my power to support passage of federal legislation that protects a woman’s right to choose — including eliminating the filibuster which is one, but not the only, obstacle to getting this done.

We can not sit by and let this Texas legislation effectively overturn Roe and turn back the clock on the right to choose. Add your name and demand Congress end the filibuster to codify the reproductive rights guaranteed to all by Roe v. Wade >>

Thank you for speaking out. Grassroots pressure is vital to our ability to move this forward in the US Senate.

Onwards,

Chris