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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester for holding this floor block to mark a grim--very grim--anniversary in America.

Three years ago today, as we know, MAGA Justices on the Court eliminated the protections of Roe in the disastrous, terrible, nasty Dobbs decision. In one fell swoop, hard-right Justices overturned decades of precedent and ripped away the fundamental right to choose for millions of American women.

When the Dobbs decision was leaked, I stood here on the floor and said it would be ``one of the worst and most damaging opinions the Court has handed down in modern history,'' and unfortunately, 3 years later, that much has proved to be true.

Today, 21 States have significantly restricted the right to choose. At least 14 States have passed what are practically total abortion bans. In a State like Texas, maternal mortality is spiking. One in five Americans today has to travel great distances, even cross State lines, and wait weeks or more to get the care they need. People are dying because of the Dobbs decision. And--listen to this--State-level restrictions on abortion, combined with the lack of Federal protections, are costing the U.S. economy $133 billion nationally. Without reproductive healthcare protections, fewer women are participating in the workforce, stunting our economy. It is utterly regressive.

Around the Capitol today are women telling their stories, and they are amazing and they are heart-wrenching. I stood alongside several reproductive rights advocates, including two women whose lives have been upended because of Dobbs: Shanette Williams, the mother of Amber Thurman, the first woman recorded in Georgia to die because of lack of abortion care; and Ashley Ortiz, who couldn't get the care she needed because of Arizona's extreme abortion ban. Shanette and Ashley's stories are just two examples of the irreparable harm Dobbs has inflicted. There are countless more stories like theirs we will never hear about.

The anti-choice fanatics in the Republican Party spent decades campaigning to end Roe. Now that the damage is done, Republicans aren't backing down on this issue; they are doubling down. As I speak, Republicans are trying to jam through one of the most extreme, radical anti-choice provisions in their ``Big Ugly Betrayal.'' Specifically, they have snuck two provisions into their bill--one defunding Planned Parenthood and one eliminating coverage for comprehensive reproductive care.

So Dobbs may have set us back, but today, with Senator Baldwin as our lead, we will again introduce the Women's Health Protection Act to ensure that healthcare providers have the statutory right to provide patients abortion services free from bans and restrictions.

Republicans know to their core how deeply unpopular their abortion bans are, and that is why many Senate Republicans tried to run away from the Dobbs decision at first. But, unfortunately, they are back to their normal ways, trying to achieve a total, nationwide abortion ban. Senate Democrats will continue to stand together and fight back against Republicans every step of the way.

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