House Democratic women ‘united’ on protecting medication abortion access
Mabinty Quarshie
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House Democratic women leaders rallied to protect abortion access on Wednesday in the wake of a federal ruling that blocked access to an abortion pill, declaring they were “united” against attacks on women’s rights.
Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, and members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus held a press conference that criticized the Texas judge that issued the ruling, called for the Supreme Court‘s intervention, and championed the Women’s Health Protection Act, legislation that protects abortion access.
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Texas U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk halted the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone earlier this month. The ruling led to widespread Democratic outcry, and even a few Republican lawmakers, such as Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), criticized the decision.
Nearly every single congressional Democrat, including more than 240 Democratic and independent members, filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to reverse Kacsmaryk’s ruling.
“If the Supreme Court refuses to act now, the consequences for patients in this country will be severe,” said DeGette. “There will be a dangerous precedent that threatens to undermine the global gold standard for determining medication safety and efficacy.”
DeGette wasn’t the only Democrat to sharply criticize the ruling.
“This decision threatens to undo decades of medical science by banning safe and effective abortion medication,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX). “A drug that, I may add, has also treated women experiencing miscarriages and pregnancy complications and it saved tens of thousands of women’s lives.”
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay on the Texas ruling last week until Wednesday, giving the high court more time to consider the matter. This comes in the aftermath of the Biden administration filling an emergency motion asking the Supreme Court to restore access to mifepristone, a commonly used abortion drug.
Democratic Whip Katherine Clark made it clear that the high court’s decision on Wednesday would have a dramatic impact and that the court “faces a clear choice.” “Uphold legal and scientific fact or capitulate to MAGA extremism,” Clark said.
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Democratic lawmakers said they were “hopeful” that the Supreme Court would allow access to mifepristone when asked about the high court’s upcoming ruling.
“No matter what, Democrats are absolutely not backing down. We’re going to keep fighting back in the courts, in our districts, and here in Congress until women have full control over our bodily autonomy,” said Democratic Women’s Caucus Chairwoman Lois Frankel (D-FL). “We’re going to restore Roe v. Wade and pass the Women’s Health Protection Act.”