During an appearance on CBS’s Face The Nation this Sunday, House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sharply criticized Republicans for threatening reproductive rights as the fallout spreads from a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision that would overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling that established nationwide abortion rights. Some Republicans, Pelosi remarked, have refused to even support family planning — which, besides the element of literal planning, can involve measures like birth control. Those on the side of the anti-abortion and anti-family planning crusaders are threatening the health of millions of people.
‘For decades, I’ve been trying to say to my Republican friends, and women who care about a woman’s right to choose — who contribute to Planned Parenthood and all of those organizations — you can’t do that and expect [the best]. You’ve got to weigh in with your own party on this. Barbara Bush — early on Republicans were very much about family planning and respect for women. So the thing is, is that most people always thought that this debate in the Congress was about the termination of a pregnancy. But it wasn’t. My Republican colleagues have said to me on occasion, ‘We’re not for any family planning domestically or globally’… Most people don’t know that. This is a fact. This is a fact. That’s what they believe, and they’re true to their beliefs.’
Protect Roe v. Wade. Codify Roe v. Wade. Ensure reproductive freedom in all 50 states.
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) May 7, 2022
If the Supreme Court goes through with overturning its Roe decision, handling abortion access would become the responsibility of state officials — and obviously, Republicans currently in power across the nation would no doubt leap at the chance to oversee the implementation of new abortion bans. And although the National Republican Senatorial Committee (an arm of the national GOP handling U.S. Senate races) formally opposes re-establishing restrictions on contraception, a far-right Arizona Senate candidate who’s supported by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and was identified as a potential eventual recipient of Trump’s endorsement opposes a Supreme Court ruling that loosened restrictions on birth control. A recent poll had Masters in third place — close behind the leaders — in a crowded field with many undecided respondents.
When the Senate votes to codify Roe next week, I will vote yes.
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) May 6, 2022
Summarizing the issue on CBS, Pelosi remarked: “This is about something so serious and so personal — and so disrespectful of women… This [draft majority] decision is about being anti-precedent and anti-privacy and has serious ramifications as we go down this path. It has to be softened. I don’t think there’s a good outcome, but there’s a better outcome.” There have been protests outside the U.S. Supreme Court and D.C. area homes of Justices Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts. There’s still a chance for Justices to change their minds before the court releases its final conclusions in the case that provided the backdrop for the leaked draft majority opinion. Check out Pelosi’s remarks below:
Pelosi: "Most people always thought that this debate in the Congress was about the termination of a pregnancy. But it wasn't. My Republican colleagues have said to me on occasion, 'we're not for any family planning domestically or globally' … most people don't know that." pic.twitter.com/CS80dBkBmJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 8, 2022
.@margbrennan: Should Democrats have fought harder for abortion rights in 2009?
Speaker Pelosi: “In 2009 we did not have a pro-choice Democratic party…Right now we do have a pro-choice Democratic Congress and we passed the law months ago” pic.twitter.com/almjExDMBt
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 8, 2022