MSNBC "All In with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: Interview with Ayanna Pressley
Interview
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Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is a Democrat from Massachusetts. She serves on the Oversight and Reform Committee. She`s chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus Abortion Rights and Action Task Force. And Congresswoman in that role, what do Democrats and what do people who believe in a woman`s right to choose do in the wake of this?
REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MA): Well, Chris, I`m not at all surprised by the draconian acts under the cloak of night by this extreme Supreme Court. What I`m looking to right now, is this Congress to act and we must. We know that the courts have not been on our side when it comes to housing rights, to voting rights, to the rights of low-income people, to people of color to the most marginalized.
But who does this party value and who will we stand up for? Being in that this is the first pro-choice majority Congress, being that we are in the majority, we have the House, the Senate, and the White House, being in the majority and being the first pro-choice majority Congress in the history of Congress must be more than a talking point. And so, we have to act.
And that is why we need to get to the floor. And we were able to get a commitment earlier today from Speaker Pelosi, my bill with Representative Judy Chu, the Women`s Health Protection Act, which would ensure access which would codify Roe v Wade, and also ban other draconian state laws like the one in Texas, which is a frightening bellwether of what could be to come.
If we do not, if Congress does not act right now and use every tool at our disposal to protect the bodily autonomy of all people, regardless of income, regardless of gender, identity, or race -- we cannot back down. This is not a drill. And might I add, not only do lives hang in the balance, but so does this majority if we don`t act in this moment.
HAYES: Let me play for you what the speaker had to say about this. And then I want you to explain a little bit when people say codified Roe into law, what that would mean. Here`s what Nancy Pelosi said earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): When we go back to Washington, we will be putting Roe v Wade codification on the floor of the House to make sure that women everywhere have access to reproductive health. And I say that as a mother of five children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAYES: So, since 1973, when Roe was decided, you know, finding a constitutional right to an abortion for women under the right to privacy. There has been a constitutional threshold for which laws states can and can`t pass. And it`s determined by courts through Casey, through women`s health, through the series of cases.
What you`re proposing through your legislation would just to actually just pass a law which Congress never done, right, to say, states cannot restrict this thing. Is that -- is that the way it will work?
PRESSLEY: That`s right. And Chris, you know, this isn`t a bill that was just written. This is a bill that was written many years ago because we anticipated and forecasted that we will find ourselves just this inflection point. Again, I`m not at all surprised by the extremism of this court, which is why we do need to expand the court, which is why we do need to codify Roe v Wade, and ensure access to abortion for all people and ensure that state laws like the one in Texas are not passed anywhere else.
And that`s why my bill with Judy Chu needs to come to the floor for a vote. We also need to abolish the filibuster. So, we need to codify a Roe v Wade, pass the Women`s Health Protection Act. We need to abolish the filibuster. We need to expand the courts and we need to repeal Hyde.
You know, the impact of these policies is disproportionately borne by the most vulnerable. That`s true for the Hyde Amendment as well. And it is the most vulnerable and the most marginalized, who delivered this Democratic majority. And so, it`s up to us now for Congress to act to meet the moment and to deliver on the most basic rights to that coalition of voters.
[20:30:07]
HAYES: What does it say to you -- it is very striking to me -- by one person is count, Fox had not mentioned this since 27 seconds, you`re not -- you know, I`ve been on air when the -- when the marriage case was decided, for instance, and that was a huge deal. And I`ve been on air when the ACA was signed, and that was a huge deal. We didn`t pretend it didn`t happen. It`s like guys, it`s good people.
The total absence of reaction from Republicans, what does that say to you about their perception of the politics of this?
PRESSLEY: Well, I don`t want to give them any more oxygen. You know, it`s just more of the same with them. And clearly, they have contempt for everyone who calls this country home. I`m not looking to the courts. I`m not looking to our colleagues across the aisle. I`m looking at this Democratic Party to stand up and to be responsive and to meet the moment and to act legislatively.
We need to codify Roe v. Wade. We need to pass my bill with Judy Chu. We need to abolish the filibuster. We need to expand the courts and we need to repeal Hyde. Unnecessarily in that order, but all of those things must happen.
HAYES: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, thank you so much for your time tonight.
PRESSLEY: Thank you, Chris.
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