On the recordFebruary 9, 2023
Madam President, I rise today to join in the reintroduction of the Reproductive Freedom for All Act, a bipartisan bill that would restore the previous legal framework that governed abortion access in this country for nearly 50 years since Roe v. Wade. This bill would ensure the right of women to make certain reproductive choices without undue government interference, including the right to obtain and use contraception. I support a woman's right to have an abortion, and I believe that the threshold question of whether abortion is legal needs to be consistent at the national level. States can account for regional differences with regulations like parental notification requirements, but the basic right as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court prior to its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization needs to be the same regardless of the State in which a woman happens to reside. In Dobbs, the Supreme Court abandoned a nearly 50-year precedent that had been reaffirmed and on which women had relied for decades. The Dobbs ruling was, as the Chief Justice described it, a ``jolt'' to our legal system. This action has further divided the country at a moment when, more than ever in modem times, we need the Court to demonstrate consistency, predictability, and restraint.…





