Friend,
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging Mississippi’s extreme abortion ban – the greatest test of Roe v. Wade’s precedent in decades.
Despite yesterday's legal arguments, conservative justices seem ready to roll back abortion rights drastically. I’ve never needed you to join me in taking action more than at this moment, and I hope you’ll allow me a moment to explain why.
Yesterday, I was standing outside the Supreme Court, rallying with grassroots activists who are on the front lines of the fight to protect women’s healthcare. It was an honor to participate and support their tireless efforts to guard the liberty of American women – liberty that is enshrined in our Constitution’s 14th Amendment, but is at risk of being trampled over by the right-wing conservative ideologues who sit on our Supreme Court.
The justices’ questions and attitudes suggested that we can no longer rely on this Court to defend our fundamental human rights. A Court with six conservative justices -- three extremists appointed by Donald Trump -- is a Court that no longer cares either about legal precedent or the rights of all Americans. Congress owes it to the women of our nation and has a constitutional duty to take action that unequivocally protects women’s health. Otherwise, draconian laws like those in Mississippi and Texas will put women further at risk with each passing day and hour.
Thankfully, the House has already taken action by passing companion legislation to my bill, the Women’s Health Protection Act. If passed by the Senate and signed into law by the president, it would guarantee a woman’s right to make her own reproductive healthcare decisions. It would stop right-wing, extremist attempts to undermine the rule of law and legal precedent. That’s why I am once again calling on this team to help me pass this lifesaving bill through the Senate.
If the Supreme Court, as many expect it to, upholds Mississippi’s abortion ban, then a woman’s right to exercise her constitutionally guaranteed liberty over her own body and her health could disappear overnight in America. It’s why legislative action to protect women’s healthcare decisions is so urgent. We must act this instant, and I so appreciate you joining me in this fight.
Dick
