CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Pramila Jayapal

Interview

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CAMEROTA: Well, after the Supreme Court failed to intervene this week, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington tweeted about her own personal story.

She says -- quote -- "For me, terminating my pregnancy was not an easy choice. But it was my choice. And that is what we must preserve for every pregnant person throughout Texas and across America."

And Congresswoman Jayapal me now.

Congresswoman, great to see you, as always.

And I do want to get to your very personal story that you have shared in a moment. But, first, let's just talk about what President Biden said there. He thinks that somehow the Justice Department might be able to do something about this draconian law. But do you know what he's talking about, since he didn't sound quite sure of what the Justice Department could do?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Alisyn, it's great to be with you.

And I think that they are looking for every possible avenue. I don't think that they have determined exactly what that avenue is. But criminalizing people who assist somebody who is trying to get an abortion makes no sense at all.

And so I think they're looking at the boundaries around what can happen there. You might remember, almost 10 years ago, there was an attempt to do the same with criminalizing people who helped undocumented immigrants in this country. The Catholic Church at that time rose up against that, and so did many, many people.

There was a nationwide movement against that. I don't think that this is something that can stand. But we have to look at the judicial ways -- or not the judicial ways, but the administrative ways in which that can be challenged.

At the same time, Congress has to immediately act to codify a pregnant person's right to make choices and to have an abortion. And that is what the Women's Health Protection Act is, which I'm a very proud original co-sponsor of...

CAMEROTA: Yes.

JAYAPAL: ... and that the speaker has said that we're going to vote on in the House. That's what we need to focus on passing immediately.

CAMEROTA: I do want to ask you about that, because, if you can't get relief from the Supreme Court, and there are a slew of states that are passing restrictive bills -- I mean, Texas is the most, as we have said, draconian one, but it's happening in a lot of places.

But, I mean -- and I know that you're saying it's time for Congress to act, but in terms of the Women's Health Protection Act, what makes you think there's an appetite in this divided Congress to protect doctors and women on this?

JAYAPAL: Well, I believe we're going to pass it through the House. But the challenge, of course, is always the Senate and the filibuster.

And I just have to say, I mean, women make up over half of our country, and one in four women across the United States has had an abortion. So this is not something that is a distant issue. And it crosses all party ideological lines. Independents, Republicans and Democrats support having safe and legal abortions available to pregnant people.

This is critically important, because it's not like, Alisyn, when -- that in Texas abortions are suddenly going to stop. What's going to happen is they're going to continue, but they're going to be unsafe, they're going to bleed to death. And, of course, particularly women of color and poor women will be most affected.

So it's the urgency. And we're going to have to get the Senate to understand that keeping in place this filibuster with no reforms and affecting constitutional protections for women and, of course, for voting rights, which is something we have been talking about for a long time, is not acceptable anymore.

[15:25:09]

CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean, as you -- well, I don't know if you point out, but, as the research suggests, restrictive abortion laws don't cut down on unwanted pregnancies.

And so where does that leave women in Texas and beyond? I mean, again, I want -- I do want to get to your personal story just for a moment, because you ended up having to terminate, deciding, I should say, to terminate your pregnancy. And you wanted another child.

JAYAPAL: I did.

CAMEROTA: I mean, you personify the complicated reasons that go into a family and a woman's decision.

And so the idea that -- particularly in Texas, where they have made such a point of how can the government interfere in our health choices in terms of mask-wearing and vaccinations, but for 50 percent of the population, sure, go right ahead and interfere with their family decisions.

JAYAPAL: This is so -- I mean, it's personal to me. It's personal to millions of women across the country.

And I had never talked about my abortion prior to a couple of years ago. The only reason I did was because these restrictive laws were starting to come out across the country. And I felt like I had to give voice to the nuances that are involved when we as pregnant people make decisions about whether or not we can have a child, the medical complications, but just the freedom of choice, because whatever choice we make, Alisyn, we are the only ones that have to live with the consequences of that decision.

And it does not affect anybody outside of me and my loved ones, my family, the people that I choose to bring into that decision. And so while it was hard for me, it may not be a difficult choice for every single pregnant person, but it is their choice, and they have to live with the consequences.

So, yes, we are not going to stop abortions from happening. That is not going to happen. What's going to happen is backroom abortions with dangerous, dangerous consequences, including death for millions of pregnant people across this country. That cannot happen.

And, look, we have fought for so long. We, as women, have fought for this for so long. We thought we were making progress. And now the Supreme Court's action or inaction is absolutely unacceptable. But it puts the pressure back on Congress. We can't shy away from this anymore. We need to pass this.

The Senate needs to pass this and we need to protect this right for pregnant people across the country.

CAMEROTA: Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, thank you for the candid conversation.

JAYAPAL: Thank you, Alisyn.

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