Reflecting Upon Today's Decision By the U.S. Supreme Court

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, as today marks my 39th birthday and an uncertain number of years that I will still be able to bear children, a chill rides up my spine for the healthcare that I can no longer receive in the United States of America.

In a country with the highest maternal mortality rate of the industrialized world, the action of the Supreme Court is to overturn Roe v. Wade, taking away the constitutional right of women to make their own health care decisions. I shudder to think about what comes next. For the young girl with her whole life before her--will she be able to determine the outcomes of her life equally? How will we achieve equality, accessibility, and economic progress with women unable to make their own health care decisions? We are so much more educated, connected, and liberated than we were in 1973.

I know a new time will mark a new moment for people wishing to conceive freely and fairly on their own terms. Michigan's Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and Attorney General Dana Nessel are standing with the women of this Nation. I want everyone to know they have a champion in me, and together, the views of the majority in the Nation will rise again.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source