Pressley Denounces Anti-Abortion Ruling In Texas Case By “Co-Opted Supreme Court”

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WASHINGTON – Thursday, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’s Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s inaction on Texas’ restrictive abortion law.

“The Supreme Court’s refusal to block the enactment of Texas’s dangerous abortion care ban makes plain that the Court is not on the side of the people and Congress must step up.

“In this moment where anti-choice state legislatures and a co-opted Supreme Court will stop at nothing to ban abortion care, we must proactively legislate reproductive justice and meaningfully advance policies that affirm that abortion care is a fundamental human right.

“Congress must pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, legislation that I am proud to co-lead with Congresswoman Judy Chu and Senator Richard Blumenthal, which is necessary and responsive legislation that would codify a person’s right to choose and ban harmful state laws like the one in Texas. But we cannot stop there. We must also repeal the racist and discriminatory Hyde Amendment, which has disproportionately impacted low-income, Black, brown, and Indigenous communities, and expand the Supreme Court to restore balance to the court and protect our democracy.

“We must use every tool at our disposal to protect the bodily autonomy of all people—regardless of income, gender identity, or race—and we’re not backing down in this fight.”

In June, Congresswoman Pressley, along with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and U.S. Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA), Lois Frankel (D-FL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX), introduced the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), bicameral federal legislation to guarantee equal access to abortion care, everywhere.

As Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’s Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, Congresswoman Pressley has fought tirelessly to repeal the Hyde Amendment and protect comprehensive reproductive health care for all, including abortion care.

• Over the course of her first term serving in Congress, Congresswoman Pressley has filed amendments every year to repeal Hyde from annual Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bills and in July published a Medium post on the importance of doing so.
• In April, Rep. Pressley, along with Congresswomen Barbara Lee (CA-13), Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), led a group of 131 Democratic members in reintroducing the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act or the EACH Act, which would repeal the Hyde Amendment and ensure that all people, regardless of income, insurance or zip code, can make personal reproductive health care decisions without interference from politicians.
• In May 2020, she led more than 155 Members of Congress in calling on House Democratic leadership to ensure that any future COVID-19 relief packages rejected Republican efforts to use the public health crisis to diminish abortion access.
• In May 2019, she led more than 100 colleagues in introducing H.Con.Res.40, a resolution reaffirming the House of Representative’s support for Roe v. Wade. In June 2019, Rep. Pressley introduced H.R. 3296, the Affordability is Access Act, to make oral contraception available without a prescription.
• In September 2016, as a member of the Boston City Council, Pressley championed a resolution calling on Congress and President Obama to repeal the Hyde Amendment and reinstate insurance coverage for abortion services.