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Two years ago, 6 Supreme Court justices – all nominated by Republican presidents – decided to overturn Roe v. Wade, abolish the constitutional right for women to have an abortion, and give politicians in state governments the right to control a woman’s body.
This morning we will be holding a hearing to take a hard look at how this Supreme Court decision, the Dobbs decision, has impacted women, doctors, and health care providers throughout America.
In a few minutes I am going to be handing the gavel to Senator Patty Murray because, given the subject matter, I think it is appropriate for a woman to chair this important hearing.
Before I do that, however, I want to say a few words on this subject – something I feel very strongly about.
Throughout our country’s history, women have had to fight for their basic human rights against all forms of patriarchy and sexism.
Women had to struggle, and some died in that struggle, to obtain the right to vote – a right they did not achieve until 1920.
Women had to struggle for the right to get the education they wanted. Throughout this country, doors were slammed at educational institutions where women wanted to study.
Women struggled to choose the careers they wanted. The idea of women working in the construction industry, the military, as police officers or fire fighters, was seen as far-fetched and not “lady-like.”
Very few women were CEOs of corporations or held important positions in the business world up until the 1950s. In the 1950s, it was legal for many employers to fire women for the “crime” of getting married. Up until 1964 it was legal for employers in America to reject a job application simply based on gender.
Women had to struggle to get banks to lend them the money they needed to buy a car or start their own business. In fact, up until 1974, banks in America could legally refuse to issue a credit card to a woman simply because she was a woman.
The struggle for equal pay for equal work continues to this day. In America today, women working full time make just 84 cents on the dollar compared to men.
Women were grossly under-represented in our nation’s political life. There were very few if any women who were governors or members of Congress. As recently as 1987 the composition of the U.S. Senate was 98 men and 2 women.
Despite massive levels of sexism and opposition, women continued the struggle to undo their second-class status in America.
And then on January 22, 1973, after decades of struggle, women in America finally won the right to control their own bodies as a result of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade.
No longer would state governments be able to tell women what they could or could not do with their own bodies.
No longer would women have to risk their lives in back alley abortions because that procedure was illegal.
No longer would doctors be arrested for serving the needs of their patients.
No longer would 13 year old girls be forced to have babies after being raped by their fathers.
No longer would a low-income woman with 5-kids be forced to have a sixth even if she couldn’t afford it or didn't want it.
And then two years ago, six Supreme Court justices voted to overturn Roe v. Wade despite four of them telling the Judiciary Committee that it was a settled precedent of the court entitled to respect under the principles of stare decisis during their confirmation hearings.
Let me be very clear: I have zero doubt that if women had equal political representation over the last 100 years in this country we would not be having this discussion today.
The truth is that men have not had to tolerate the government telling them what they could do with their own bodies, nor should women.
I am not aware of any state in the country that has ever restricted the right of a man to get Viagra or any other medication prescribed by a doctor.
I am not aware of any state in this country that has prevented a man from getting a vasectomy or any other medical procedure that men choose to get that has been approved by a doctor.
I hear a lot of talk in this institution about “freedom.” Well, what does “freedom” mean when a U.S. citizen does not have the fundamental right to control his or her own body?
And, by the way, that’s not just what I believe. It’s what the American people believe.
According to a recent poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 80% of all adults believe abortion should be a decision between women and their health care providers including 94% of Democrats, 81% of Independents, and 62% of Republicans.
Further, according to the latest Pew poll, 63% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while only 36% disagree.
But let’s be clear. It’s not just polls.
Since the Dobbs decision, every state in America that has allowed voters to decide this issue on their own have made it clear that it is women who have the right to control their own bodies, not politicians.
In 2022, over 59% of voters in Kansas rejected a constitutional amendment to ban abortion.
That same year, over 52% of voters in Kentucky opposed a constitutional amendment that would have made it more difficult to get an abortion in that state.
Last year, over 56% of voters in Ohio approved an amendment to make sure that women had a constitutional right to make their own decisions about an abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriages, or continuing a pregnancy.
Over 56% of voters in Michigan also voted to approve a constitutional amendment to make sure that women had the right to control their own bodies.
Voters in California and my own state of Vermont also passed amendments to give women the constitutional right for women to choose to have an abortion.
And that is where we are today.
Let me conclude by saying this: The issue of abortion and reproductive rights is often framed as a “woman’s issue.” I disagree. This is a human rights issue and, if there’s ever a time in American history where the men of this country must stand with the women – this is that moment.
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