Friends -
Earlier this week, a leaked document indicated that the Supreme Court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade. I would like to take a moment to discuss what this would mean, and then ask you to join me in calling on Congress to pass legislation to protect a woman's right to abortion.
Let's be clear:
From the day of the Roe v. Wade decision nearly 50 years ago, right-wing politicians have worked tirelessly to reverse it and to make it more difficult for women to control their own bodies.
They've done it through increasingly restrictive abortion legislation in state after state after state.
They’ve done it through the Hyde Amendment, which restricts access to abortion for low-income women.
They’ve done it by attacking Planned Parenthood and shutting down clinics.
They've done it by intimidating women who access clinics and doctors who work in those clinics.
They’ve done it by making women travel hundreds of miles for an abortion and wait weeks for appointments.
And now, the Supreme Court is likely to overturn the landmark decision of Roe v. Wade, which grants women the right to make decisions about their own bodies, including the right to receive an abortion.
While Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land and abortion is still legal, the Supreme Court is expected to hold an official vote to overturn it in the coming weeks.
So today, more than ever, it is up to Congress to act to protect the right to a safe and legal abortion for millions of women across the country.
Please sign my petition:
What really gets me about this issue is the extraordinary hypocrisy of my Republican colleagues. Every day on the floor of the Senate I hear Republicans, again and again, spout their right-wing mantras:
"Get the government out of people’s lives."
"Let people, not the government, decide what's good for them."
And on and on their rhetoric goes.
When it comes to ending the disgrace of the United States being the only major country on Earth that does not guarantee health care as a right, their response: "Gotta keep the government out of people’s lives."
When it comes to stopping the drug companies from being able to charge outrageous prices for the lifesaving medicine people need in this country: "Gotta keep the government out of people’s lives."
When it comes to asking people who want to buy a handgun or an assault weapon to pass a simple background check: "Gotta keep the government out of people’s lives."
But when it comes to telling every woman in America what she can or cannot do with her own body, about whether or not she can access reproductive health care and abortion care, now all of a sudden my Republican colleagues support a very big and oppressive government. Whether it is at the local, state or federal level, they believe that politicians should make the decisions regarding what is a deeply personal decision for women.
What hypocrisy!
And now, despite overwhelming opposition from the American people, there is a very strong chance that this conservative Supreme Court will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
That is not acceptable. We cannot allow this Supreme Court to put in jeopardy the privacy rights of all Americans and a woman’s right to control her own body.
The consequences of overturning Roe v. Wade would be disastrous and would threaten the very lives of American women — and that's not an exaggeration. The reality is that banning legal medically-assisted abortion and forcing women back into the arms of quacks to get the care they need will quite literally kill women.
No. We cannot go back to the days when women had to risk their lives in order to end an unwanted pregnancy.
The decision about abortion must remain a decision for a woman and her doctor to make. So I am calling on Congress to act to codify Roe v. Wade into law.
Please add your name if you agree:
It is time to put an end to extremist attacks on abortion rights once and for all.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
Paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders
PO BOX 391, Burlington, VT 05402
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