On the recordJune 14, 2023
We have a very clear difference of perspectives here. The gentleman talks about the right to life. I talk about the right to freedom. The right to reproductive freedom is a core human right that is protected by our Constitution. The majority of the work our agencies do has little to do with the private decisions women make with the consultation of their doctors. In an effort to continue the culture wars, my colleagues have added this purposefully politicized amendment to signal that they, contrary to their supposed beliefs, do think that Big Government is good and that Big Government's reach extends to a woman's private decisions about what to do with her body. All the rhetoric about the REINS Act is that Big Government is bad, that we should have less government. That is all the rhetoric of the Republican Party, generally. Yet, here they are, saying that government should reach into the private decisions of a woman with respect to her own body that were made in consultation with her doctor or perhaps with her husband or whomever. It is up to her, and government shouldn't determine her decision for her. Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment and the Republicans' crusade to create more laws about what we can do with our bodies and our reproductive decisions because government should not be in the business of dictating private decisions to private people. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
