Following the supreme court’s decision to upend the constitutional protections on abortion, Senator Lisa Wellman issued the following statement:
“Today the right-wing majority sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to overturn the court’s 49 year old decision on Roe vs Wade. For nearly half a century the U.S. Constitution has protected pregnant people’s right to abortion. Rights upheld by specific guarantee of “liberty” in the Fourteenth Amendment. Where is that liberty now?
“State governments across the nation now get to enforce their will upon pregnant people—where are my colleagues and their ‘small government’ arguments now? Roe was based, in-part, on an individual’s right to privacy—where is that right to privacy now?
“Today abortion lost its federal protections to a decades-long onslaught that slowly but surely chipped away at our human rights and now, this decision leaves the defense of reproductive healthcare up to the states to enact individually. As access to abortion wanes in many states across the union, Washington remains a state with legislation in place to help prevent a lapse in reproductive care for those seeking it—legislation put in place by our Democratic majority. While we mourn, let all of us remember that we enjoy our freedom of choice despite numerous efforts from across the aisle to strip it away over the years.
“As we watch in horror what takes place in the sacred halls of our U.S. Supreme Court, let us also remember that every court is known by the name of their chief justice. This is Chief Justice Robert’s Court. And this is the his disgusting legacy.”
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