DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney issued the following statement on the Supreme Court of the United States allowing a near-total abortion ban in Texas to stay in place, casting aside 50 years of legal precedent and effectively ending the protections guaranteed by Roe v. Wade:
“The Supreme Court’s shameful decision to discard Roe v. Wade in the dead of night has sounded the loudest possible alarm for the future of reproductive rights in America. Trump’s Supreme Court justices’ refusal to stop this unconstitutional abortion ban in its tracks leaves millions of women without access to safe, legal abortion and greenlights a bounty on anyone who helps a woman get one — from doctors to Uber drivers — that virtually any person can sue to collect.
“A future where abortion is illegal is the future House Republicans have worked so hard for. For decades, they’ve targeted women and chipped away at reproductive rights in state houses, in the courts, and in Congress. This week, it’s Texas — but other states are next, now that the highest court in the land has given its tacit approval of the most radical abortion ban in the country. This is the House Republicans’ dangerous agenda at work, and it will come at the cost of women’s lives.
“It’s time for action: Congress must codify Roe v. Wade into law. This is about a woman’s right to her own body, her own life, and her own future. Americans elected Democrats to the presidency and to lead Congress because we are the party of the people, and it has never been more urgent to rise to this moment and fight back. House Democrats stand with Texans and all Americans against this grave attack on reproductive rights.”
Background information:
Yesterday, the draconian Republican abortion ban in Texas (S.B. 8) went into effect, all but eliminating access to safe, legal abortion for patients across the state. The Texas bill is one of the most radical, restrictive abortion bans in the country: It makes abortion illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, long before many women even know they’re pregnant. The legislation also encourages wanna-be vigilantes to target health care providers across the state by allowing virtually anyone — from abusive partners to neighbors to complete strangers — the right to sue any person they believe provided or assisted a patient with accessing an abortion. They can even collect $10,000 for each successful claim.
###