Brian Schatz: “this week is the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Because of the current rightwing Supreme Court's decision…”

“this week is the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Because of the current rightwing Supreme Court's decision almost 2 years ago to dismantle reproductive freedom, women in many parts of the United States today have less control over their bodies than they did 50 years ago--50 years ago. The Dobbs decision was the crowning achievement of the hard right's decades-long war on a woman's right to choose, but it wasn't the end. They want to go even further. These very same people are now going State by State, trying to pass extreme laws to all but ban abortion access, and it is working. Over half of the women of reproductive age live in States that are hostile to abortion rights, and more than 64,000 women and girls have become pregnant because of rape in States that have implemented abortion bans after Roe was overturned--64,000 women and girls pregnant in States where abortion access is limited or not available at all. The stories they share about the pain and trauma inflicted by this extremist cruelty will break your heart. A woman in Ohio had 1 day--1 single day--to decide whether or not to keep her child because she was right on the verge of the State's ban at 6 weeks. A Florida woman was forced to carry her baby to term even though doctors found fatal abnormalities in an ultrasound at 23 weeks and knew that it had at most a few hours to live after birth.…”