MSNBC "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Barbara Lee

Interview

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MAXWELL: Breaking tonight, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed Texas to temporarily resume banning most abortions just one day clinics across the state began rushing to serve patients again for the first time since early September. On Wednesday, U.S. District court judge Robert Pitman issued an order suspending the Texas law, calling it an offensive deprivation of constitutional rights of women to have abortions.

But tonight, the appeals court quickly granted Texas` request to set aside Judge Pitman`s order for now while the case is reviewed. And joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California. And I just want to get your reaction to this breaking news. You testified recently about your own experiences. What is your reaction to the latest out of Texas?

REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA): Well, I`m glad to be with you tonight. Sorry about this horrible news that we have just learned. Let me tell you, women`s lives are at stake. And, you know, women, people all over the country are sick and tired of our lives being in jeopardy in so many ways.

And it almost feels like the courts and the state laws are just playing games with us. These are our bodies, our lives, and we have the right to make our own personal decisions about our own reproductive health care, including abortions.

And so forth for these courts to continue to put women in jeopardy and to really force them to scramble to who knows what will take place next in terms of what they do when in fact they want to and have made a decision to have an abortion.

Finally, I`ll just say, yes, I remember the days of back-alley abortions. I always said last week, you know, at age 16, I had to go to Mexico. Fortunately, it was a clinic and compassionate and competent doctor, but so many women died during that period and now people are going to die again to find new ways of trying to have abortions if in fact these laws are not taken off the books and the courts need to be on the side of people everywhere and on the side of the constitution.

So, this is a very, really, dark moment, I think, for people in the country and for our constitutional rights.

MAXWELL: I think it`s so important for people to understand what it was like before Roe v. Wade and that`s why your testimony about the pre-Roe realities was so, so important to this conversation. You know, what do you want voters out there to do in this moment, the Women`s Health Protection Act passed the House of Representatives, but, as we know, it`s held up the same way all the other bills are held up in the Senate.

So going forward, you know, in the state of Texas, women are not able to get abortions, but as soon as the Supreme Court decides, there are trigger laws that will affect about a dozen other states. So, what is the recourse in this moment for voters who support abortion rights?

LEE: Well, first, we`ve got to get -- you know, make sure the senators understand that they need to support the Women`s Health Protection Act. And this involves, Zerlina, political action. This result (ph) of grassroots action. This involves making sure that we hold members of Congress, both House and Senate accountable to people who deserve to be able to exercise their constitutional rights.

What they`re trying to do is turn the clocks back to the days that I know so well, that so many people know so well where women died. And in fact, we have to move forward and make sure we hold the elected officials accountable. And in these states we need to elect members of state houses who are going to support reproductive freedom and we need to make sure that those who don`t are not re-elected.

I mean, this boils down to a political struggle. We`re in a war. This is a fight for our lives. This is a fight for our freedom. And they`re playing with our lives. They`re playing with our bodies. And I am telling you, people are going to die if these states continue with what they`re doing and if these courts continue making these decisions against people`s reproductive freedom, their constitutional rights.

And finally let me just say it`s your personal decision. And as I said in my testimony, it`s nobody`s darn business what I do with my body. The only reason I came forward is because I want people to understand what it was like before Roe v. Wade.

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And to know that I shouldn`t have to even slip there and talk about it. Nobody should`ve to do that. But I was compelled to do it because I`m sounding the alarm on what can happen. So many women died. That was the primary reason for the deaths of African-American women, septic abortions, during days. So, this is a really sad and dangerous moment, but it better compel us to engage in political action like we`ve never done before.

MAXWELL: Before it is breaking news, we had scheduled you to talk about the Build Back Better agenda. And one of the things I think is related is one fact and one question, which is a majority of women who have abortions in this country already have children. One of the central components of the Biden agenda is child care.

Child care is central to the Biden agenda. Talk about why it`s so important for families to have affordable child care, especially since in Texas and other places you don`t have access to abortion that you may need because it`s an economic consideration.

LEE: Sure. And then they try to deny us access to contraception also and family planning and comprehensive sexual education in our schools. What the heck do they want? I mean, this is crazy. It doesn`t make any sense. And so we just got to make sure that as we move forward we insist that people are respected and that our rights are respected and that election officials are not going to destroy our lives.

And that`s what they`re trying to do. And when you look at our Build Back Better bill, yes, child care, women want to work. Black and brown women especially are disproportionately low-wage workers. Child care is expensive. And so why in the world are those who are trying to stop our reproductive freedom and our rights to have an abortion, why are they now denying us access to good quality child care and trying to stop the Build Back Better bill.

They don`t want us to have child care either. They don`t want women to get back into the workforce. I mean, come on. This has got to go. This is an inflection moment. This is the time when we have to fight on all fronts for our rights on so many efforts -- in so many efforts.

MAXWELL: Congresswoman Barbara Lee, it`s been great to have you tonight. Thank you so much for joining us and please stay safe.

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