Growing Threats and Harms From the Rightwing Judiciary

Floor Speech

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and my dear friend from Pennsylvania for making this Special Order hour a priority. I know your constituents and the people of this country appreciate it.

I rise today on behalf of the people across our Nation seeking access to abortion care. While there are many forces and people at work who seek to spread lies and misinformation, let me set the record straight. Abortion care is routine medical care. Abortion care is safe. Abortion care is a fundamental human right. Abortion care is healthcare.

One in four women in this country seek abortion, women that you know, love, work, and worship with. Right now, a pending court case in Texas aims to restrict access to medication abortion across the entire Nation.

Over 40 percent of abortion care in this Nation is medication abortion, a simple and safe protocol where patients are prescribed two medications to end a pregnancy.

A single man--a far right Trump-appointed judge in Texas--stands to make a decision that could strike down the FDA's approval of one of these drugs and restrict access to care to millions; a frightening precedent.

Imagine for a moment if a judge was poised to strike down access to another safe and effective drug routinely used as part of medical care like Tylenol or Advil. We would call it out for exactly what it is: inappropriate overreach, overreach that will cause harm.

Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA more than 20 years ago and has since been used by more than 5 million people to safely end their pregnancies both in their homes and at health centers.

Earlier this year, following dedicated advocacy by myself, my colleagues, and advocates across our Nation, the Biden administration permanently lifted in-person dispensing requirements for mifepristone, allowing retail pharmacies to stock the medication and further expand access to medication abortion.

This medication is safe and necessary. Not only should abortion care be available, but what type of abortion care a patient receives should be decided between a patient and their doctor, not some partisan court.

At a time when abortion access is already out of reach for millions after the fall of Roe, taking mifepristone off the market would further compromise abortion access across the country, including in States where the right to an abortion is protected, like my home State of Massachusetts.

This case is another emboldened rightwing judge trying to take away our bodily autonomy. Again, mifepristone is safe, it is effective.

For people across our Nation who are seeking care, you can go to AbortionFinder.org to navigate how to get the medical care which you seek.

This is a deeply volatile and hostile time to be a person in America in need of reproductive healthcare.

I will never stop pressing for our full humanity and bodily autonomy. My body, my choice. Your body, your choice.

Mr. Speaker, I thank, once again, my dear colleague, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania. We are so glad you are here in Congress. Again, I am grateful for this Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of over 40 million people from all walks of life burdened by our unjust student debt crisis--the grandparents, the Black and Brown folks, women, students, members of the LGBTQ community, workers, parents, teachers, young people, and more, everyone who organized, mobilized, and shared their stories to make the case for national student debt cancellation.

After years of advocacy, President Biden heeded our calls. With the stroke of a pen and clear legal authority, he canceled student debt and opened a path for millions to get ahead, make ends meet, build generational wealth, grow their families, purchase homes, and narrow our shameful and growing racial wealth gap.

But callous and spiteful Republican officials and their allies on the courts are, once again, poised to stand in the way of progress. They see the transformative power of canceling student debt. They see how sorely needed it is. They see how powerful it is. So, they are choosing obstruction, even for their own constituents.

While this far-right Supreme Court deliberates and continues to leave our borrowers in limbo, let me make it plain: Student debt cancellation will change and save lives. While there are those who seek to play with your life, Democrats are here fighting to change and save lives with policies that go as far and as deep as the hurt is.

The President's authority to cancel student debt is clear. The administration's legal case is sound. The only question is, will the Supreme Court uphold the law? It must.

Mr. Speaker, 40 million people stand to benefit from this transformative plan, including over 100,000 people in my district, the Massachusetts Seventh. We can't stop and we won't stop fighting to deliver this critical relief the President promised.

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