Women's Health Protection Act of 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, a woman who does not own or control her own body cannot call herself free.

I want you to close your eyes and imagine being forced to give birth during a global pandemic: fewer in-person visits, more telehealth visits; new parents having children alone without their families, worrying if the baby will catch the virus; something goes wrong, there may not be space in the ICU.

Now open your eyes to the truth. A woman should not have to yield control over her own choices and her own body.

So let's pass this bill, the Women's Health Protection Act. That is what we need to do.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, I want to amplify the voice of Calla Hales, a woman in my district who is both an abortion care provider, and a mother.

``Last year, I made the choice to have a child with my husband.

What I didn't choose was prenatal checkups with COVID precautions. I didn't choose the complications I had during my pregnancy. I didn't choose delivering my amazing baby girl without my family because the pandemic limited the visitors in the maternity ward.

I didn't choose worrying every day if she would be safe from the coronavirus, despite her pulmonary issues.

I am proud of the choice that I made, in spite of everything that's gone wrong over the past two years.

But no one should ever be forced to make that choice. No person should be forced to carry a pregnancy to term, during a global pandemic, or any other time.''

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source