WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss the Supreme Court’s recent decision on the abortion pill and House Democrats' efforts to defend reproductive freedom for every American. Below are excerpts from her interview:
On the impact of this decision on the fight for reproductive freedom:
“That decision yesterday threw out an absolutely baseless case. And I am glad that for now Mifepristone, the abortion medication, remains available. But the battle is still very much on for women in this country — for access to health care.
“It is framed, in this election, very clearly: Are we going to choose extremism or are we going to choose freedom?
“Two-thirds of American women live under a health care ban, an abortion ban, in this country. And we have seen the cruelty, the devastation, the injury that has happened as a result.
“To have Donald Trump in town yesterday, well, they're serving him cake. The American people are under attack by his policies. He is the architect of a national abortion ban. He is the architect of overturning Roe v. Wade. And to see them kissing the ring, wishing him all the best while American women are literally fighting for their lives to get the health care they need.”
On the harm Republican abortion bans have caused American women:
“I would describe it as a roar of anguish. As I travel the country — and I go to red states, blue states, purple states, Florida, Texas, Kansas — everywhere I go, people understand what is at stake.
“When Donald Trump wants to come into your bedroom, come into your doctor's office, and make a decision for your family on if, when, and now how you are going to have children. The American people understand this level of government intrusion into their lives, and however they feel about abortion, they want to make that decision.
“Women want to make it with their family. In consultation with their doctor. In accordance with their faith. They do not want the GOP to come into those decisions.
“And that's why every single time this has been on the ballot, it has won — in Kansas, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky — because this is fundamentally about freedom, and that is so well understood.”
On Americans' right to emergency abortion care:
“The Republican Party and the GOP extremists are out of touch on this issue.
“We don't want to see our doctors criminalized. We want to make sure that when we show up in an emergency room — and this right is very much at stake in front of the Supreme Court this month — that when we show up in an emergency room, having a crisis in our pregnancy that could be threatening our lives, our future fertility, that we get that care. That is the case in front of the Supreme Court saying: Not so fast! If you need reproductive health care, we want you to be denied that.”
On the anti-abortion proposals Republicans have snuck into the Defense Bill:
“We have the House GOP saying: We are going to take a bill for our security — for the readiness of our troops — and destroy it in order to control women and deny our veterans and active military members health care.”
To view the complete interview, click HERE.
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