Rashida Tlaib

This is a decision between a woman and her God and her doctor and her life, and only she knows how to make this decision.

And one of those issues that they voted on was Hyde, eliminating Hyde and having the EACH Woman Act.

I think that one of the things that we have--we have seen over the last couple of years is women taking back their rights, and it is not just women. It is people. It is LGBTQ people. It is trans people. Basically, standing up and saying we…

Because Missouri's law not only requires a waiting period, but requires it to be with the same physician who will ultimately perform your procedure, she was then- her two-visit abortion became a four-visit appointment visit.

We cannot afford to endure another abortion ban because we are already battling discrimination in healthcare, wages too low to put food on the table, debilitating childcare costs, attacks on immigrants, and threats to our voting rights.

This obsession with abortion has not only proven detrimental to our patients, but it has lasting effects on the health of an entire community.

We have not been able to get a gun violence prevention bill passed because we don't have the same basic compassion once the unborn fetus becomes a baby.

I am very proud that my state of Illinois is an oasis in the sand, very proud that we are a shining light in the dark.

Current law restricts Medicaid funds from covering abortion care for women in communities across the United States.

But in these times, we have seen many states emboldened by this Administration pass additional restrictions that further hinder individuals' access to abortion.

This conversation cannot be more timely, as we bear witness to and experience this Administration's calculated and systemic attacks on our constitutional rights and freedoms.

In my exam room, abortion is not political. It is simply healthcare.

Governor Parson and Director Williams have repeatedly violated the trust of our community and compromised my patients' safety, all to push a political agenda.

So where is the compassion once you are born? That is the question I have?

Let me tell you what the real picture is. The real picture is that you have got about a 50/50 shot at survival.

When a physician cannot mention that one option for her patient is abortion, that is a gag rule.

Pseudoscience, total baloney, and I don't feel like I can let those things just stand.

These do not stop abortions. They make them later. They delay them, or they make them less safe.

In fact, black women in Missouri are three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than other women.

I just want to personally thank you for defending my right to choose.

Under Dr. Williams, Missouri went from 42nd in the country to 44th in the country in maternal mortality.

It is something that 1 out of 4 women have before she is 45 years old.

The hypocrisy is so unjust and absurd.

It is time for elected representatives here in Congress and in state houses across the country to protect the right to privacy and a woman's right to abortion services rather than attack it.

It is time to let women speak, and it is time for everyone to listen.