John,
A few weeks ago, I publicly shared my abortion story for the first time in front of a Congressional committee. It’s a difficult story for me to share and even though I believe it’s personal to me and nobody else’s business, I was compelled to speak out because of the real risks we face today of the clock being turned back to an era before Roe v. Wade.
After becoming pregnant as a teenager — at a time when abortion was illegal — my mother’s friend helped me reach a good, competent doctor operating a “back-alley” clinic in Mexico.
I was one of the lucky ones, but many others like me weren’t so fortunate. A lot of girls and women in my generation didn’t make it — in the 1960s, unsafe septic abortions were the primary killer of African American women.
I was one of those that survived and I think it's my duty now, as hard as this is, to talk about it because states are trying to take us back to the days I know so well.
My personal experience shaped my beliefs to fight for people's reproductive freedom. One of the first bills I authored in the California state legislature was to enhance penalties for blocking access to those seeking care at abortion clinics. My own lack of sexual education as a teenager is why I authored a bill in Congress to provide comprehensive sex education for young people in our schools.
Even after the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision which confirmed the right to an abortion, reproductive freedom has been under attack — from the Hyde Amendment in 1976 which targeted low-income and poor people from seeking abortion, to S.B. 8 today in the state of Texas which criminalizes abortion care.
I’m speaking out because we cannot and will not return to the era before Roe.
I was proud to help pass the Women’s Health Protection Act through the House last month, but we can’t stop there.
People deserve a right to make their own reproductive decisions about their lives, their bodies, and their futures which is why I’m calling on my colleagues to act now to protect the right to reproductive freedom. John, add your name if you agree. [[link removed]?]
SIGN THE PETITION [[link removed]?]
No one should experience a world without access to the full range of reproductive services including abortion — everyone should be able to make their own decision about their bodies and their lives.
Together, we will ensure we never return to the days before Roe. I’m grateful to have you with me in this fight.
In solidarity,
Barbara Lee
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Barbara Lee for Congress
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