-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to continue to raise the alarm about how Republicans' extreme, ongoing attacks on reproductive rights are putting women's lives at risk, are trampling the will of the American people, who supported the right to abortion, by the way, everywhere it was on the ballot last November, and are even undermining care for patients in States like mine, which have strong abortion protections.

In fact, right now, a truly extreme lawsuit, which some far-right Republicans in Congress just filed a brief supporting, is seeking to overturn the FDA's longstanding approval of a safe and effective medication used in abortion care. This suit could cause chaos nationwide and rip abortion medication away from patients in every single State, potentially even from my constituents in Washington State.

I have been clear that the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year was not the end of the fight to protect reproductive rights. Unfortunately, it was just the starting gun for even more extreme attacks from far- right Republicans. We have already seen 14 extreme State abortion bans go into effect--from bans that set bounties for information about anyone who gets an abortion or helps to provide one to bans that even lack exceptions for rape and incest and the life and well-being of moms. Some States are even passing new bans to try and get around State courts that block their first ones or laws to get around the fact that their own constituents backed the right to abortion in a statewide vote last year.

Here in Congress, we saw Senate Republicans introduce a national abortion ban last year, and it was one of the first things the Republican House voted on this year. We are still seeing new, appalling proposals from extreme Republicans across the country.

While Republicans here in Congress blocked our bill to make sure doctors cannot be jailed for providing an abortion, Republican State legislators have drafted bills to make sure women can be prosecuted for getting an abortion.

While Republicans in Congress blocked our bill to protect the right to travel across State lines for an abortion, State lawmakers have bills to stop employers from helping employees travel for an abortion.

Right next door to my home State, there is a bill in Idaho that could lead to parents and grandparents being charged with human trafficking for helping minors travel out of State so they can get an abortion. That is appalling.

Republican politicians have investigated a doctor for providing care to a child who was raped. They have proposed funding to jail people for abortions. They have talked about using existing child endangerment laws to prosecute women who use abortion pills. They have made it harder for patients to get birth control and even the treatments they need for life-threatening illnesses, like cancer.

There are Republican attorneys general suing, right now, because the Biden administration told pharmacists they can't discriminate against pregnant patients and because the administration reminded care providers that, when a woman's life is at stake, they are required by Federal law to provide the necessary care, and that includes abortion.

Then there is the case I mentioned earlier, whereby a far-right group is trying, right now, to ban mifepristone, an important abortion medication, nationwide, and I mean all across the country, including in my home State of Washington and in every other State that has strong protections for abortion. There are 22 Republican attorneys general and 67 Republicans right here in Congress who have filed briefs in support of that outlandish lawsuit.

Now, let's be clear about what is going on here. In this lawsuit, these far-right extremists are asking one district judge to overrule the FDA's experts and rulemaking authority in order to undermine healthcare for patients nationwide by declaring a drug that was approved over 20 years ago as unsafe.

Let's set the record straight right now because there has been so much misinformation on this, including from Republican Members of Congress.

Mifepristone is safe, and it is effective for ending a pregnancy during the first 10 weeks. The FDA determined that decades ago. The science is done. The results are in. They have been for over 20 years. Mifepristone is safe. This lawsuit is not about science; it is about ideology. It is not about protecting women; it is about controlling their bodies.

The reality of what extreme Republicans have already caused with their abhorrent bans is a nightmare. Because of Republican bans, women facing miscarriages have already been unable to get the care they need for days on end. They have already been left bleeding, getting sicker and sicker, and pleading for help. Doctors are already being forced to compromise medical care, leave patients in pain, and even forgo providing lifesaving care because they fear far-right politicians will jail them for doing their job. Abortion providers in States like mine are already overworked, overbooked, and overwhelmed with patients who have had to wait weeks and travel hundreds of miles to get an abortion because of Republican bans. This lawsuit will make things much worse.

Mifepristone is used in over half of the abortions. Taking that drug away would mean fewer options for women, longer waits for people who are seeking care, stress for patients and providers, and chaos for a healthcare system that Republicans have already put in crisis.

It is cruel and utterly unnecessary. There is no reason for this.

You don't have to take my word for this, by the way. Listen to doctors and patients, and listen to women, because that is exactly what I have been doing.

I am not going to stop. I am going to continue to make sure their stories are being heard, especially when they are hard stories to hear, because we will not be quiet. I am going to continue to be their voice and vote here in the Senate, and I am going to keep putting a spotlight on their concerns and on the threats to their health, like these extreme abortion bans and ideology abortion lawsuits. I am going to be here, raising the alarm, fighting to pass commonsense legislation to protect our rights, being a firewall against extreme Republican attacks against abortion, and working, meanwhile, to build the support we need to restore Roe once and for all.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source