Reproductive Justice for Women

Floor Speech

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Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives Tlaib and Pressley, for yielding and allowing me to speak.

As we all know, this morning the Supreme Court heard the oral arguments in Medical Services v. Russo, a case that challenges the unconstitutional abortion restrictions in Louisiana. The Louisiana law would require abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles or else they must stop providing care.

Let's be clear what this is about. This restrictive law is meant to eliminate access to abortion care. In fact, if this law were allowed to stand, all but one of Louisiana's abortion clinics would be shut down.

This should be a straightforward decision for the Supreme Court. Three years ago, the Court struck down an identical Texas law in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt.

Americans overwhelmingly support abortion access. Nearly 80 percent of Americans do not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned. Polling consistently shows that there is not a single State in the Union where residents want to outlaw abortion. Not one.

Reproductive rights are central to individual liberties. What we are talking about are deeply personal decisions that should remain up to the woman, not be decided by politicians. These rights enable women to decide if or if not and how they should start to grow their family. This right should be an absolute right and solely up to women to make their own decisions about their health and their future, and we should respect them for making that decision.

Reproductive rights also allow women to control their economic security and make the best choices for themselves and their families. It is not our place--any of us--to decide whether a woman should or should not get an abortion.

Abortion remains one of the safest outpatient medical procedures. However, placing the burden of admitting privileges on abortion providers threatens the safety of these procedures. Nearly every professional medical association has said having admitting procedures will not make women safer.

But let's be honest. We know there is no medical reason for these outrageously restrictive laws. There are only political reasons behind these moves. Admitting privileges, as we know, are often difficult for abortion providers to obtain, solely because of the ideological opposition to abortion.

Therefore, it is imperative that we protect individual liberties and that we protect reproductive rights and reproductive education in order to build healthy communities.

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