Statement from Congressman Castro on Supreme Court's Ruling on Texas Law SB8

Statement

U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (TX-20) issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's ruling on Texas law SB8:

"Under the shadow of night, the Supreme Court enabled an unconstitutional assault on women's rights in Texas. For nearly half a century, Roe v Wade has been the law of the United States. There is no doubt that Republican's goal with SB8, and soon copycat legislation across the nation, is to overturn almost 50 years of precedent and strip away a woman's constitutional right to safe and legal abortion."

"The consequences of the Supreme Court's decision will be horrific for the women of Texas, particularly for Black women, Latinas, and women with lower income. The Court has allowed the most oppressive anti-abortion law to go into effect, negatively impacting millions of women. Most women do not even know they are pregnant after six weeks. This law seeks to interfere with every aspect of a women's life, by not only empowering, but also incentivizing strangers with a mere speculation of a violation of SB8 and with a $10,000 bounty to insert themselves in the middle of a woman's most personal and private decision. Millions of women in Texas will now be denied access to critical health care, and there is not even an exception for incest or rape."

"As Justice Sotomayor articulated in her dissent, SB8 is "a flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights …[and] a majority of Justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand."

"Congress must codify Roe v. Wade into law. I support Congresswoman Judy Chu's Women's Health Protection Act to guarantee reproductive health care for all women in the United States."

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