DeGette, Slaughter, Boxer, Murray & Colleagues Introduce Resolution Supporting Women's Reproductive Health

Press Release

Today, on the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Co-Chairs of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, and U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), the Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, introduced a bicameral resolution in support of women's reproductive health and standing up for a woman's ability to make health care decisions for herself and her family.

"A woman's right to make her own health care decisions is fundamental, yet that right is under constant attack from Republican Congressional leaders and their political allies. We must stand for this fundamental right, stand up to baseless attacks on the right to choose, and stand by America's women," said Representative DeGette.

"If you had told me that 42 years after Roe v. Wade, we would still be debating whether women should have access to contraception and abortion services, I wouldn't have believed it. I thought we had turned that corner," Representative Slaughter said. "When the court made their ruling in Roe v. Wade, what it really did was give women control over their own lives. It gave them the ability to make their own health care decisions without some politician in a blue suit and a red tie interfering. Before then, women's educations, livelihoods, and even their lives were out of their control because of a lack of access to family planning. I remember when it was nearly impossible for women to attend college or have a job if they were pregnant, and had to seek out back-alley abortions in dire circumstances. Women in America don't want to go back to those dark ages."

"We are not going to let Republicans turn back the clock and we are not going to let them endanger the health and lives of America's women -- we are going to stand up and fight back," said Senator Boxer.

"It's disappointing that after telling workers and families they would work across the aisle and focus on jobs and the economy, Republicans are instead introducing bill after bill attacking a woman's constitutional right to make her own decisions about her own health care," Senator Murray said. "But we've got a message for them: Not on our watch."

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