I'll never forget where I was on June 24, 2022—the day that the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, and I suddenly had fewer constitutional rights than my mother and grandmother did. I had just left an Abortion Task Force meeting at the DCCC, where my colleagues and I were strategizing about how to mobilize voters around abortion rights. We were feeling energized, motivated, and prepared.
Then I got a news alert on my phone: the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling was out, and Roe v. Wade was dead. I was so angry that I was literally shaking. As one of the few women of reproductive age in Congress, I instantly knew what this meant: that millions of people would now be forced to carry unwanted or dangerous pregnancies, and without access to the care they need, people's lives would be at risk. I also knew that MAGA Republicans were far from over in their mission to end all abortions in our country. And today, we see that's true as the Supreme Court hears a case that could impact even more people than the Dobbs decision.
Today, the Supreme Court begins oral arguments in a case that could limit access to mifepristone—a commonly used abortion pill that is safe, effective, and has been on the market for decades. We don't know how the Court will rule, but the decision could prevent mifepristone from being mailed to patients, require multiple in-person doctor visits for a prescription, or limit the number of weeks into pregnancy it can be used. Medication abortion makes up the majority of all abortions in the U.S.—and more and more people are turning to telehealth to access it, so this decision could be devastating. Ultimately, it could wipe out mifepristone access for 40 million women, even in blue states like California, which I represent, despite our strong abortion protections.
These coordinated, systemic attacks on abortion access have been in the making for decades. |
No comments:
Post a Comment