Texas Democrats Stand with Reproductive Justice Advocates as Supreme Courts Hears Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt Oral Arguments

Press Release

Members of the Texas Democratic Congressional Delegation released the following statements after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt, a critical case that challenges Texas' House Bill 2, a restrictive anti-abortion law passed in 2013, and represents the most comprehensive challenge to the Supreme Court's historic ruling in Roe v. Wade in nearly a decade:

"For more than four decades, the Supreme Court has affirmed that women have the constitutional right to make the best healthcare decisions for themselves and their family. Despite this fact, lawmakers in nearly two dozen states have worked to chip away at the right to safe and legal abortion services. By imposing medically unnecessary restrictions on healthcare providers, these laws create needless obstacles for any woman seeking to exercise her constitutional right to an abortion. These politically motivated laws do nothing to protect women's health and instead, work to undermine women's ability to make autonomous decisions about their reproductive futures. The Court now has the opportunity to send a clear message to anti-choice extremists that a constitutional right means nothing without the realistic ability to exercise that right. We cannot leave our daughters with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers and I am confident the Court will agree." -- Congressman Marc Veasey, TX-33

"For more than forty years, the Supreme Court has said the constitution protects a woman's right to make her own decisions about her health and family. Now the Court must reject political schemes to prevent women from acting on these personal decisions. These laws have been developed by politicians who are sneaking around the constitution to end abortion by preventing women from accessing legal health services. Playing politics with women's health is not just wrong, it is dangerous. Closing clinics in our communities, especially in Texas, will not end the need for abortion--it forces women to take matters into their own hands. We cannot leave our daughters with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers--it is time the Supreme Court reaffirm our nation's commitment to women's basic dignity. When women make their own reproductive choices, they lead healthier lives and are able plan for their career and their livelihoods. Laws, like the one in Texas, that attempt to deprive women of these choices endanger us. For years, anti-choice activists have tried to overturn Roe vs. Wade and strip women of their fundamental rights. Those efforts have failed, because most Americans trust women to make our own decisions about when and with whom we have families. These deceptive laws, designed to close clinics, exist in forty-four states and the District of Columbia, so make no mistake -- this is not just about Texas. It is about undermining the fundamental human rights of women all over this country." -- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, TX-18

"H.B. 2, the Texas Omnibus (Ominous) Abortion Law, is currently severely curtailing the reproductive healthcare options of women across the state. It more than regulates facilities; it eliminates facilities, thereby making the constitutional right to an abortion worthless in value and useless in application for too many women." -- Congressman Al Green, TX-09

"In the Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt case, TRAP law proponents claim to be looking out for the best interest of women, but medical professionals overwhelmingly agree that these restrictions harm women's health. This is especially a major factor in underserved communities such as those in my district. Access to health care should not be reserved for the privileged few. The Supreme Court must stop these politically motivated laws that would roll back more than 40 years of progress for women, and continue to protect a woman's right to make her own health decisions. This case is another example of why it is imperative that the President nominate, and the Senate swiftly confirm, a Supreme Court nominee to ensure it and other crucial cases receive full consideration." -- Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, TX-15