Underwood’s Statement on the Supreme Court Overturning Roe v. Wade
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) released the following statement after a Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, dismantling nearly 50 years of precedent.
"Today is a dark day for women and Americans across the nation. The Supreme Court just struck down our constitutional right to privacy and bodily autonomy. In the history of our country, Americans have never, ever, lost a constitutional right. Unfortunately, that's now no longer true.
"Abortion became illegal in at least 13 states today — often with no exceptions for rape and incest. This marks a shameful moment in our country's history — a day that will always be remembered as the moment the Supreme Court ripped away a woman's right to make decisions about her body and conservatives across the country criminalized health care.
"This activist Supreme Court is clearly ruling to meet the demands of an extremist minority of Americans. There must be court reform to restore public trust and confidence in their role of ensuring equal justice under the law.
"I am shocked and disgusted by the plans that Republican lawmakers have laid out to impose a federal ban on abortion care and use this decision to overturn other legal precedents that protect our civil rights. As these Republican lawmakers' extreme agenda moves forward, our lives will change radically, even those of us in states like Illinois. The ultra-conservative Court's opinions in this ruling make clear that our civil rights are broadly under threat — everything from who we can marry, to which Americans are protected from illegal discrimination is now at risk.
"But We, the people, can take action. We need a U.S. Senate majority willing to support procedural reforms to the filibuster. The Biden Administration must act urgently and boldly to protect and expand access to reproductive health care through administrative action, litigation, and every available tool. And the U.S. Senate must take up legislation like the House-passed Women's Health Protection Act to protect reproductive freedoms for all Americans."
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