Ed Markey: “thank you to Senator Duckworth for her leadership today on the floor. In February, the Alabama Supreme Court placed the…”

“thank you to Senator Duckworth for her leadership today on the floor. In February, the Alabama Supreme Court placed the medical procedure that has helped millions of Americans realize their dream of having children, in vitro fertilization, or IVF, at risk. The Alabama judges used the Supreme Court's decision in the Dobbs case to justify their argument. These extremist judges showed the American people that the Dobbs case was never just about abortion. Dobbs was a preview of coming atrocities, and the Supreme Court majority declared open season on American reproductive freedom. And Republicans got to work. States passed immediate and overbroad abortion bans; peeled back protections for access to birth control, IUDs, and Plan B; and put access to IVF at risk. They created confusing, restrictive, and punitive schemes across States and threatened to jail patients and providers. And they aren't finished. Republicans don't have to pass a national ban on abortion, birth control, or IVF to effectively achieve that goal. Confusion, misinformation, and fear are the point. In some States, they make it so difficult and so terrifying to get reproductive care that it is like it is already banned. But in creating this chaos, Republicans have made clear their intentions and their position: Republicans will not protect the right to an abortion; Republicans will not protect the right to birth control; and Republicans will not protect the right to start a family.…”