WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) cast her vote today to advance the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act, a piece of legislation designed to express support for women’s reproductive freedom and protect access to reproductive health care. The Senate vote concluded with a final tally of 49-44, with nearly all Republican senators voting against the measure.
Before the vote, Senator Hirono delivered a speech addressing the severe consequences of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision on women nationwide.
“We often refer to the states as ‘laboratories of democracy,’” said Senator Hirono during her remarks. “Sadly, these laboratories are now experimenting on women, with dystopian results. This hellish experimentation has resulted in devastating consequences for millions of women and families across the country, who are now subject to state-imposed abortion bans.”
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, over 20 states have enacted abortion bans, some without exceptions for rape or incest. These restrictions have compelled women across the nation to travel long distances for abortion care or continue pregnancies despite health risks. Additionally, health care workers in states with abortion bans face threats that prevent them from providing necessary emergency treatment.
Senator Hirono criticized Republicans for enacting policies she deemed harmful to women's health while claiming to support it.
“Let’s be clear—abortion bans aren’t about protecting anyone. They’re about the Right’s obsession with power and control, plain and simple,” continued Senator Hirono. “Time after time, Republicans have come to this floor insisting that they support women’s health, only to turn around and vote against bill after bill that would do just that.”
“This should be a no-brainer for anyone who actually supports women and our right to control our own bodies,” concluded Senator Hirono. “But if past is prologue, it is safe to say Republicans will vote against this bill today, only to insist tomorrow that they are the party of freedom. Give me a break.”
A transcript of Senator Hirono’s floor speech is available below:
M. President,
After Dobbs came down, we worried about what a post-Dobbs America would look like. Would other reproductive freedoms be attacked and stripped away piece-by-piece across the country? Now, two years later, we know the answer is yes.
In Dobbs, the Supreme Court “return[ed] the issue of abortion to [the States]” and eliminated a constitutional right women in our country had relied on for nearly 50 years. We often refer to the states as “laboratories of democracy.” Sadly, these laboratories are now experimenting on women, with dystopian results. This hellish experimentation has resulted in devastating consequences for women and families across the country who are now subject to state-imposed abortion bans.
As a result of over 20 states enacting abortion bans—some without exception for rape or incest—women all over our country are being forced to travel far distances for abortion care—or worse, continue pregnancies regardless of risks. Their stories are horrifying—stories like that of Kate Cox, a mother of two in Texas whose pregnancy was threatening her life and her ability to have more children in the future. Despite her deteriorating physical condition, Texas officials ruled that she wasn’t sick enough to get an abortion forcing her to travel out-of-state for life-saving care.
While Kate had the ability to travel so many other women in her condition do not—and are forced to suffer unimaginable consequences due to Republicans’ obsession with power and control.
What’s more healthcare workers in states with abortion bans live under constant threat of criminal prosecution when patients present signs of miscarriage doctors cannot provide emergency treatment going against their legal duty care years expert training causing providers flee practices contributing reproductive healthcare deserts across country
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