Keeping Roe V. Wade the Law of the Land

Floor Speech

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Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, on January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled, 7-2, that women have the right to make their own healthcare decisions and to legally access abortion care. Forty-seven years later, our country has seen significant social and economic progress since Roe v. Wade.

Seventy-three percent of Americans support keeping Roe v. Wade the law of the land. They agree we can't go back. And yet, nearly 50 years after Roe became settled law, abortion is still under attack by extreme politicians who believe the government should dictate whether and when to have a child.

From 2011 to 2018, States across our country enacted 424 separate restrictions on abortion. In 2016, Donald Trump campaigned on a promise of appointing Justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade, and he has appointed more than one-quarter of all active judges to date.

His administration has pushed a domestic gag rule to prohibit doctors from telling women about their legal right to access abortion and slashed access to family planning funding in the process.

As we honor the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we must expand abortion access for women across the country and stand up to the senseless attacks on women's health.

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