[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 14 (Monday, January 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E73]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN HONOR OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROE V. WADE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JANE HARMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 27, 2003

  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 30th 
anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic Roe v. Wade decision.
  That decision marked a cornerstone of equality and freedom for which 
American women had fought for generations. The decision empowered women 
to make their own decisions about their reproductive health and 
protected them from unwarranted government intrusion into their 
personal, private decisions.
  I know firsthand how hard it was to secure the right to choose for 
women, and I know how hard we will have to fight to maintain this 
right. I was active on this issue in 1973 when the case was decided, 
and I have continued to be so since coming to Congress in 1992. I 
fought to give military women the right to pay for abortions in 
military hospitals, and I have served on the board of Planned 
Parenthood of California, all in an attempt to keep secure the 
essential right of a woman to make her own choices about her 
reproductive health.
  But, 30 years later, we still live in a time in which a woman's right 
to choose is in danger of being diminished or reversed. Anti-choice 
advocates now control the White House, the Senate and the House of 
Representatives and have indicated they intend to launch a legislative 
assault on Roe v. Wade. President Bush has made clear his intent to 
nominate anti-choice justices to all branches of the judiciary. And, 
the retirement of just one Supreme Court justice may tip the court from 
pro-choice to anti-choice; from protecting women's health to 
endangering it.
  As such, it is now more important than ever for Americans to protect 
the rights that women gained as a result of Roe v. Wade. Freedom of 
choice is essential for women and their health, and as we work to make 
the number of abortions rarer through improved health education and 
family planning services, on this anniversary, it is important that we 
remember the struggles women faced before Roe v. Wade. Indeed, it is 
somewhat bittersweet that so many women today cannot recall the times 
in which abortions were not legal. Many do not know women who became 
ill or died from unsafe, illegal procedures. It is our duty to remind 
them of the danger of returning of that era.
  I join my colleagues in urging Americans to fight to protect the 
right to choose, to uphold Roe v. Wade, and respect reproductive 
freedom for all women across the nation.

                          ____________________