A generation’s rights ripped away in an instant

We live in a world where this generation has fewer rights than the ones who came before them. As a Dad, it is absolutely infuriating. As a Congressman, I'm determined to do something about it.

Today marks 50 years since the Roe v. Wade decision. Today should be a day of celebration of progress. Instead, it is a sobering reminder of the injustice and oppression many Americans face.

The Dobbs decision this summer ripped the right to bodily autonomy from a generation in an instant. Across the country, "trigger laws" banned abortion, and Republican state legislatures got to work criminalizing essential reproductive health care.

The party that screams "my body, my choice" when asked not to smoke in the Capitol or put on a mask, is more than happy to eliminate women's right to control their own bodies.

Of course, these bans have not affected everyone equally. Coupled with existing systemic inequality, abortion bans hurt Black, brown, and indigenous women the most. Even before these horrendous laws took effect, Black women's maternal mortality rate was nearly three times as high as that of white women.

In states with the most extreme bans, doctors, fearful of investigation, refuse to see women in their first trimester when miscarriages are most likely to occur. The GOP would love us to blame the doctors here, but their authoritarian laws are the cause.

The party claiming to care so much about the sanctity of life is now preventing women from getting the health care they need – making pregnancy even riskier.

Though unable to agree on a Speaker for days, House Republicans were united around their desire to criminalize abortion and restrict reproductive health care nationwide. It was one of the first things they brought to the floor this year! I was proud to vote HELL NO on this oppressive and unnecessary legislation.

As long as I have the privilege of serving in Congress, I'll fight against abortion restrictions and for every woman's right to make her own health care decisions.

Thankfully this bill will die in the Senate, but it gives a taste of what Republicans will do if they gain more power. We've got to keep building a solid progressive, pro-choice movement and send these Republicans packing. It won't be easy – it will take all of us coming together again and again. But I know we can win.

Together we can ensure that this generation enjoys more rights than those who came before them.