Patty Murray Calls Out Republicans Over 'Chaos And Heartbreak Caused' By Abortion Bans

3 months ago

At a Senate Democratic press briefing on Tuesday, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke about the right to contraception and abortion.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Senator Murray.

00:05Well, earlier today I chaired a Help Committee hearing

00:08on the damage and cruelty that

00:10Republicans' anti-abortion policies have caused

00:13over the past two years since the Dobbs decision.

00:16The shockwaves from Republicans' war on abortion

00:19are not dying down. Rather, they are getting louder

00:22day by day. Because every day,

00:25another woman in this country learns the abortion

00:28that she needs is now hundreds of miles

00:31and thousands of dollars out of reach.

00:34Every day, another woman is confronted with

00:37the agonizing reality that she does not have

00:39control over her own body.

00:42That Republican politicians are forcing

00:45her to remain pregnant, no matter what,

00:48and denying her the reproductive care that she needs

00:51with sometimes dangerous and even

00:54fatal consequences. At our hearing today,

00:57we heard the reality of how the chaos

01:00and heartbreak caused by Republican abortion bans

01:03is growing day by day. And we saw

01:05how Republicans are still trying to deny

01:09the horrific realities that they have created.

01:12They're not just trying to ignore the harm they've done,

01:15they're continuing to peddle dangerous

01:18disinformation about abortion, push even

01:21more extreme attacks on reproductive rights,

01:24and pretend the most unhinged policies are somehow

01:27moderate, that the most unimaginable tragedies

01:30are somehow humane. The American people

01:33are not buying it. Women's experiences

01:36are too personal for Republicans

01:39to spin. And the record of the Republican Party is

01:42too clear for them to deny. Over half

01:45of House Republicans support

01:48fetal personhood becoming law of the land.

01:51That is at the extreme, in the extreme.

01:54It would mean a nationwide ban on abortion,

01:57nationwide from conception.

02:00It would ban emergency contraception

02:03like Plan B. It would ban IUDs.

02:06You should ask Republicans what the heck women

02:09with IUDs right now are supposed to do.

02:12It would upend IVF access,

02:15as we saw in Alabama, and in some states it would

02:19make women who get abortions eligible for the

02:22death penalty. That is the policy that the

02:25majority of House Republicans have endorsed,

02:28including the Speaker. No one

02:31should write this off. No one should buy Republicans

02:34attempts to downplay it. Everyone knows

02:37actions speak louder than words. Supporting that

02:40bill is an action, and it's a loud one.

02:43Well, another opportunity for action is coming up

02:46this week. Tomorrow, the Senate will vote on

02:49the Right to Contraception Act. The message here

02:52is a simple one. Do you support the right

02:55to contraception or not? The vast majority

02:58of Americans absolutely do.

03:01Overwhelmingly. But what about Republicans?

03:04One of the Republican witnesses at our hearing this morning

03:07someone Republicans chose to bring

03:10in to represent their arguments is

03:13actively working to ban basic forms

03:16of contraception. That should tell you a lot.

03:19Senate Democrats believe every woman has a right

03:22to contraception, whether it's the pill or Plan B

03:25or an IUD. What could be more common sense

03:28and more uncomplicated? So tomorrow

03:31every single Senate Republican will be put

03:34on the record about where they stand on access

03:37to contraception. You can bet the American

03:40people will be watching closely. And whatever

03:43the outcome, you can bet Democrats are going to keep

03:46fighting to restore abortion rights across

03:49our country and protect women's

03:52reproductive rights across the board. Thank you.

Patty Murray Calls Out Republicans Over 'Chaos And Heartbreak Caused' By Abortion Bans

Category

Transcript

Recommended