By: Congressman Pete Aguilar Posted Jun 23, 2023, 3:03 am EDT
Monica panicked when she was pregnant in her first trimester and suspected she was having a miscarriage. Rather than seek medical attention in her home state of Texas, she risked her life to travel to my district in San Bernardino, California to seek medical attention. Because of Texas’ abortion ban, she feared the state might arrest her for thinking she had an illegal abortion.
Monica’s story is one of many that have occurred in the year since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion. We are talking about five extremist judges, with no medical experience, taking away a woman’s right to control her own body and her life – a right that was guaranteed to women for more than 50 years.
Since the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization as of June 24, 2022, 14 states have banned abortion. And the fight by Republicans for similar laws in other states is taking place in the courts.
Republicans have made it clear that they will not stop until they achieve a national ban on abortion. They even wanted to kill off a safe and legal abortion pill that women have used for over 20 years. Attempting to remove a drug from the market is a dangerous intervention in drug determinations made by the Food and Drug Administration. Democrats in Congress and the Biden Administration worked around the clock to fight these attacks on women’s rights. In April, the Supreme Court granted the stay requested by the Department of Justice, allowing access to the abortion pill to remain unchanged and on the market.
Although we are relieved that science triumphed in this case, this intentional chaos caused additional fear and concern in our communities. Simply put, a Republican-led abortion ban is still on the table, unless we all come together to stop it.
A national ban on abortion would mean that Latinas in all 50 states would be criminalized simply for seeking reproductive care. More than half of all Latinas in the country are of reproductive age, and 46 percent of them live in states where state governments have banned or are working to ban abortion. That’s over six million Latina women.
I want to be clear – Republicans want to kill off women’s freedoms and rights. This goes against our democracy and the values this country stands for.
Democrats have always believed that all women have the right to control their own bodies. We stand with the millions of people in this country who believe and have always believed in reproductive freedom.
Last year, Democrats voted to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to restore the right to abortion and ensure that women in any state can make decisions about their lives. However, all Republicans voted against that law, opposed by 70 percent of Latinos who believe abortion should be legal. His response to Democrats standing up for women was to introduce a bill banning abortion in all states. And all they would need to accomplish this is a Republican President and a Republican House and Senate. If that happens, states where abortion is legal, like California, would be forced to comply.
Republicans have made it clear that they will not stop at denying women the freedom to make their own medical decisions. Now more than ever, House Democrats stand united in the fight to restore, protect, and expand access to abortion in the United States. All women, no matter who they are or where they live, deserve the right to make their own decisions about their bodies.
Pete Aguilar represents California’s 33rd Congressional District. He was most recently re-elected in 2022. In the 118th Congress, Representative Aguilar holds the leadership position of Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.