I had to make sure you didn't miss this, Friend: With the precedent of Roe v. Wade being challenged at the Supreme Court, we are witnessing a modern-day crisis when it comes to the fundamental human rights of women in America. Mere decades ago, it was Republican-appointed Chief Justices and their courts that paved the way for landmark cases that protected civil rights – including the right to choose.
Their decisions were rooted in the 14th amendment of our Constitution. But now? Trump-appointed justices are turning their backs on the 14th amendment, signaling that they are prepared to let human rights abuses like Texas' abortion ban stand. If the Supreme Court is going to fail us, we must look to our co-equal branch of government: Congress.
The House of Representatives has already passed companion legislation to my bill that would enshrine the right to choose into federal law. I need top Democrats like YOU to demand the Senate do the same. Please – this is critical – add your name to my petition and urge the Senate to pass the Women's Health Protection Act!
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Thank you,
Dick
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Richard Blumenthal
Date: Mon, Dec 20, 2021
Subject: This is an issue of human rights
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Friend,
Once again, the U.S. Supreme Court has let Texas' abortion ban stay in place as it awaits further legal challenges. The conservative majority of the court greenlighted, for now, the most extreme abortion ban in the country – jeopardizing the human rights and safety of women in the second most populous state in America.
We can protect the constitutional right to healthcare – right now, no matter what the courts do – by passing the Women's Health Protection Act in the Senate. That's why I must ask you to again urge the passage of this vital piece of legislation, but before you do, please allow me a moment to explain why your continued activism is so important.
As I've been saying all along, the abortion bans that have sprouted up in states like Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana aren't just about access to safe and legal abortion care. This extremist lawmaking, mainly from right-wing Republican men, represents successful attempts to violate the fundamental human and civil rights of women.
The Framers of our Constitution – fearful of a too-powerful central government after the tyranny of monarchy – used 10 amendments, the Bill of Rights, to limit the powers of federal government and guarantee freedoms to the states. The horrors of state-based, tyrannical laws, such as the enslavement of Black Americans, led to the 14th Amendment being ratified to override state laws to protect equality and civil liberties.
A century later, under the leadership of Republican-appointed chief justices, it was the 14th Amendment that paved the way for landmark civil rights decisions to end segregation, legalize interracial marriage, protect the right to contraception, and in the case of Roe v. Wade, give women control over their own reproductive health choices.
But thanks to Donald Trump's appointment of three Supreme Court justices, the Court is abandoning this doctrine aligned with the 14th Amendment, signaling instead that they will once again allow states to pass laws that trample all over civil rights.
It is a disgrace that this is where we find our nation's highest court, but if Trump justices are likely to dismantle reproductive freedoms, then it is up to Congress to act. Not after Roe v. Wade has been completely undermined, not weeks or months or years down the road. Congress must act NOW. So please, even if you've done so already, sign on to my new petition demanding the Senate pass the Women's Health Protection Act and enshrine abortion rights into law.
ADD YOUR NAME >> [link removed]
For the rights of women in Texas and of everywhere in America, we must take action before it's too late. Thank you for doing your part.
Dick
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