‘We Must Confront The Ugly Truth’: Chuck Schumer Decries Decline In Women's Rights

4 months ago

During Senate floor remarks on Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about women’s rights and the anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment.

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Transcript

00:00105 years ago today, the Congress passed the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote under the Constitution for the first time ever.

00:11In the 240-year history of our country, the passage of the 19th Amendment is without question one of America's best moments.

00:19It was one of the greatest leaps ever in our march to become a more perfect union.

00:25But it was also, more importantly, a great culmination of decades of sacrifice, struggle, and persistence,

00:32much of which was centered in upstate New York, I'm proud to say, at Seneca Falls and other places.

00:38We cannot possibly name the countless women and Americans who sacrificed in ways big and small to secure for women the right to vote,

00:47but we honor their memory all the same.

00:50Today, I am wearing this yellow rose in honor of today's historic observance.

00:59I'm wearing this yellow rose to honor that historic observance,

01:04and there will be a viewing for the original signed copy of the 19th Amendment today in the Capitol.

01:10I'll be stopping by, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same, because it was truly a landmark moment for America.

01:19Of course, we celebrate today's anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, mindful of the great task still in front of us.

01:31More than a century stands between this generation and the generation that made it possible for women to vote,

01:38but in many ways we still share in their struggle for greater justice and greater equality.

01:44We still carry the same moral duty they bore to make our nation a more faithful reflection of our founding ideals.

01:53The march for equality for women and for all Americans is still not over.

01:59When the fundamental right of women to make their own choices about their bodies has been stolen from them, the march is still not over.

02:07When women are told by hard-right politicians that their health care decisions are not theirs to make,

02:13that they must travel in some instances across state lines and across time zones to access basic reproductive care, the march is still not over.

02:23When a radical majority, a radical conservative MAGA majority of the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent by repealing the protections of Roe v. Wade,

02:34the march is still not over.

02:37On this 105th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, we must confront the ugly truth that women sadly have fewer freedoms than they did just a few years ago.

02:50Let's remember that as we're all commemorating the right to vote.

02:55On this 105th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, we must confront the ugly truth that women sadly have fewer freedoms than they did just a few years ago.

03:08So tomorrow, the Senate will take action.

03:12Tomorrow, the Senate will defend the freedom of choice with a vote on the Right to Contraception Act, led by Senators Markey and Hirono.

03:19Federal protections for contraceptives are a critical piece of protecting women's reproductive freedoms, and this legislation would codify the right to contraception into federal law.

03:30As MAGA Republicans continue to block protections for access to contraception on the state level, in states like Virginia and Nevada and Arizona,

03:40it is all the more reason to move to protect contraception at the federal level.

03:46To those who think that federal action protecting access to birth control is unnecessary,

03:51just look at what's happening in states like Virginia and Nevada and Arizona, where Republicans are openly blocking these very protections.

04:00I would hope that protecting access to birth control would be the definition of an easy, uncontroversial decision here in the Senate.

04:08But the vote will tell all when we gavel in tomorrow.

04:11And there will be more action to come.

04:14Last night, I began the Rule 14 process for the Right to IVF Act, led by Senators Duckworth and Murray and Booker,

04:21to place it on the legislative calendar and make it available for consideration on the floor.

04:28I intend to bring this legislation protecting access to IVF up for a vote very soon.

04:34Millions of Americans have relied on IVF to have children.

04:38But after a stunningly radical decision by the Alabama Supreme Court jeopardized access to IVF,

04:44families are rightfully worried that this option could be stripped away.

04:48So Democrats will act to safeguard and strengthen IVF access for all Americans, so that everyone has a chance to start a family.

04:57In the coming weeks, Senate Democrats will put reproductive freedoms front and center before this chamber,

05:04so that the American people can see for themselves who will stand up to defend their fundamental liberties.

‘We Must Confront The Ugly Truth’: Chuck Schumer Decries Decline In Women's Rights

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