By: Congresswoman Lori Trahan
The news landed like a punch directly to the gut. As I looked down at my phone last Monday night, the dreadful news stared back at me: the Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Generations of progress fought for and secured by women are now weeks away from being undone according to what we now know is an authentic draft opinion authored by conservative Justice Samuel Alito. Suddenly, tens of millions of women are on the brink of losing access to lifesaving reproductive health services. In some states, victims of rape or incest will be forced to carry their traumatic, involuntary pregnancies to term.
Of course, this wasn’t a complete surprise when you consider the appointment of federal judges with long histories of opposition to Roe. Still, to see it in black and white brought with it a sense of dread unlike any I’ve felt in a long, long time.
Like many, I began to think of the women in my life. I thought of my mom and the generations of women before her. How could the rights they fought so hard for still be at such risk? And I thought of my young daughters. What must I do to ensure they and every other girl in America grow up with the same rights as their brothers?
Dear Annie: My son is headed toward debt after leaving college early
Those who support Justice Alito’s draft opinion will say that we live in Massachusetts, and we don’t have anything to worry about. However, that stance is fundamentally flawed. Yes, women in Massachusetts will be safe – for now.
But overturning Roe is just the first step in anti-choice extremists’ plan to ban every woman in America – no matter the state you call home – from ever being able access abortion care. They don’t care about states’ rights. They care about eliminating our ability to control our own bodies.
What’s worse, while they’re continuing to push for that horrific outcome, women in Republican-controlled states will see the reproductive rights they’ve had for the last fifty years rolled back, and it’ll happen overnight.
Make no mistake: in this scenario, abortions will still happen. History has shown us with brutal clarity that you can never “ban” abortions, just the safe ones. Women – disproportionately women of color and those from low-income backgrounds – will be forced “into the alley” to access an abortion. Many women will die from unsafe procedures.
And while families mourn an empty seat at the table, the wealthiest in America, including many who cheered on Justice Alito’s opinion over the past week, will still find ways to seek out safer versions of the same care. They’ll do so in secret, fearful of their hypocrisy being shown to the world.
Faced with this reality or one not too different from it, Congress must do anything and everything possible to codify abortion protections nationwide. My colleagues and I already voted in the House to keep Roe the law of the land by passing the Women’s Health Protection Act, and the Senate needs to move immediately to do the same.
This week, Senators will have the opportunity to protect the health and safety of every woman in America when this legislation comes up for a vote. The message to them is clear. Do your jobs. No more talking about procedural issues or complaining about Senate decorum. Decorum doesn’t exist when as a nation, we’re teetering on the edge of relegating every mother, daughter, and sister in America to second-class citizens.
There isn’t a single woman in my life who will tell you that preserving the filibuster – an outdated parliamentary rule – is more important than protecting women’s freedom to make decisions about our own bodies. Congress can’t wait a moment longer. We must codify Roe once and for all.
When the final votes on the Women’s Health Protection Act are tallied, the American people will know which Senators are joining the 211 House members who support rolling back women’s rights. They’ll know who to march against. And they’ll know who to hold accountable at the ballot box this November.
