Providing for Consideration of H. Res. Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, for High Crimes and Misdemeanors; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 12, the Women's Health Protection Act of 2023.

As a woman, a mother of two teenagers, and a Member of Congress, I was proud to cosponsor this legislation, and look forward to the day when we as a Congress enshrine a Federal law to reestablish a nationwide right to abortion.

Abortion is healthcare, and access to healthcare saves many lives.

In Texas, Kate Cox was forced to flee her home State to receive lifesaving care after the Texas Supreme Court decided she wasn't close enough to dying to receive an abortion, despite four emergency room visits, elevated vitals, and a risk of uterine rupture.

In my home State of Florida, Deborah Dorbert was forced to give birth to her son, who died in her arms shortly after he was born, just as doctors predicted. For an agonizing 13 weeks, Deborah was forced to carry a baby she knew would die, which left her with severe anxiety and depression.

In Ohio, Brittany Watts, a Black woman, was criminally charged after having a miscarriage at home, after doctors found that her water broke prematurely and the fetus she was carrying would not survive.

In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning half a century of precedent, we have women nationwide who are at risk of losing their lives every single day.

Women in States with abortion bans are nearly three times more likely to die from childbirth, and Black women have the highest maternal mortality rates in the U.S., three times higher than White women.

Being forced to give birth means Black women will die, and if they don't die, they will be jailed for miscarrying an unviable fetus.

This could be your wife, your daughter, your sister, or even me, whose life is at risk unless we receive an abortion. How can any doctor tell a woman that her life cannot be saved when we know it can.

This is reprehensible. Congress must pass H.R. 12, the Women's Healthcare Protection Act of 2023.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Chu for sponsoring this legislation.

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