On the recordJanuary 22, 2024
Madam President, 51 years ago today, our Nation's highest Court issued a ruling that protected a woman's right to make the most fundamental choice in her life. Roe v. Wade enshrined into law that in America, women would have legal autonomy over their own bodies. As a result of the constitutional protections in Roe, America's women took a giant step forward toward gender equity: being afforded the right to choose whether, when, and how to start a family. But after nearly 50 years of progress, in June 2022, this Supreme Court overruled Roe in its Dobbs v. Women's Health Organization ruling, taking women's rights back half a century. The Dobbs decision was a win for extreme conservative activists who waged a relentless campaign to capture the Supreme Court and overturn Roe v. Wade, but it was a tragic loss for women in America. Take the case of Kate Cox, a married woman, mother of two, from Texas. Kate was elated to learn that she was pregnant with her third child. However, tests revealed that her baby had trisomy 18, a genetic condition that is almost always fatal very soon after birth. The prognosis was grim. Moreover, carrying the child could damage Kate's future fertility for another child. Kate and her husband made one of the hardest decisions. They made the decision to go forward with an abortion. But in Texas where they live, it is illegal in nearly all circumstances.…
Source
govinfo.gov




