Mazie Hirono: “after Dobbs came down, we worried about what a post-Dobbs America would look like. Would other reproductive freedoms be…”

“after Dobbs came down, we worried about what a post-Dobbs America would look like. Would other reproductive freedoms be attacked and stripped away, piece by piece, across the country? Now, 2 years later, we know the answer is yes. In Dobbs, the Supreme Court ``return[ed] the issue of abortion'' to the States and eliminated a constitutional right women in our country had relied on for nearly 50 years. We often refer to the States as laboratories of democracy. Sadly, these laboratories are now experimenting on women with dystopian results. This hellish experimentation has resulted in devastating consequences for women and families across the country who are now subject to State-imposed abortion bans. As a result of over 20 States enacting abortion bans--some without exception for rape or incest--women all over our country are being forced to travel far distances for abortion care or, worse, to continue pregnancies regardless of the risks. Their stories are horrifying-- stories like that of Kate Cox, a mother of two in Texas whose pregnancy was threatening her life and her ability to have more children in the future. Despite her deteriorating physical condition, Texas officials ruled that she wasn't sick enough to get an abortion, forcing her to travel out of State to receive the lifesaving care she needed.…”