Ayanna Pressley: “I thank my colleague and my dear friend from Pennsylvania for making this Special Order hour a priority. I know your…”

“I thank my colleague and my dear friend from Pennsylvania for making this Special Order hour a priority. I know your constituents and the people of this country appreciate it. I rise today on behalf of the people across our Nation seeking access to abortion care. While there are many forces and people at work who seek to spread lies and misinformation, let me set the record straight. Abortion care is routine medical care. Abortion care is safe. Abortion care is a fundamental human right. Abortion care is healthcare. One in four women in this country seek abortion, women that you know, love, work, and worship with. Right now, a pending court case in Texas aims to restrict access to medication abortion across the entire Nation. Over 40 percent of abortion care in this Nation is medication abortion, a simple and safe protocol where patients are prescribed two medications to end a pregnancy. A single man--a far right Trump-appointed judge in Texas--stands to make a decision that could strike down the FDA's approval of one of these drugs and restrict access to care to millions; a frightening precedent. Imagine for a moment if a judge was poised to strike down access to another safe and effective drug routinely used as part of medical care like Tylenol or Advil. We would call it out for exactly what it is: inappropriate overreach, overreach that will cause harm.…”