Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, which my colleagues and I wrote to support reproductive choice. Simply put, this bill codifies the constitutional right to travel, which includes the ability to cross State lines to get safe and legal access to abortion. The reality is that an increasing number of women are now forced to either carry an unwanted pregnancy against their will, even in cases of rape and incest, or travel hundreds of miles just to safely receive reproductive healthcare. This is especially dangerous for indigenous women, who are 2\1/2\ times more at risk for rape and sexual assault. We cannot force women to give birth. Worse, those forced to carry out an unwanted pregnancy are giving birth in a Nation with one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the developed world. When compared to Canada, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand, the United States' maternal death rate is more than twice the rate of these countries. What is more, Black and indigenous women will be among the most at risk because they are more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth. They are also two to three times more likely to experience a pregnancy death than their White counterparts. If access to safe and legal abortion becomes more restricted and inaccessible, the Black maternal mortality rates are expected to jump by a whopping 30 percent or more.…”