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WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling on SB8, the 6-week abortion ban law in Texas:
“Whether it’s housing, voting rights, or our reproductive freedom, the far-right majority of the Supreme Court has demonstrated time and again that it is not on the side of the people—and the court’s refusal to block full implementation of SB8 today is just the latest example of that.
“While today’s ruling allows for challenges to this egregious law to continue, the court shamefully failed to put an end to these unconstitutional attacks and protect the reproductive rights and freedoms of millions of Texans. For over three months now, SB8 has pushed safe and legal abortion care out of reach, particularly our lowest income sisters, our queer, trans and non-binary siblings, our Black, brown, LGBTQ+, immigrant and disabled neighbors.
“Congress can and must step up. We continue our calls for the Senate and White House to swiftly pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, legislation I co-led with Congresswoman Judy Chu, to codify the right to abortion care once and for all. Abortion care is a fundamental human right and we must legislate accordingly. The stakes could not be higher.”
In June, Congresswoman Pressley, along with U.S. Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), introduced the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), bicameral federal legislation to guarantee equal access to abortion care, everywhere.
In September, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Supreme Court’s inaction on SB-8, Texas’ restrictive abortion law. Later that month, she participated in a House Oversight Committee hearing to examine the threat posed by abortion bans and underscored the urgency of the Senate passing the Women’s Health Protection Act.
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.
