[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 24, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S411-S412]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    44TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROE V. WADE

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, this past Sunday we celebrated the 
44th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, a ruling 
that assured every woman of her constitutional right to make her own 
decision about whether and when to have a child. That fundamental 
constitutional right is the right to privacy, which all women should 
cherish and protect.
  This weekend, in fact, many of us in Washington, DC, and around the 
country marched in the streets of our home States--or here, as I did--
in support of these ideals and values, including the right to privacy, 
other civil rights and liberties, economic opportunity, and women's 
access to health care, which truly make America great.
  Fundamental to the principle of women's access to health care is the 
Roe v. Wade decision that reaffirms the constitutional right to 
reproductive decisions made by women individually on their own in 
consultation with their health care providers, their families, their 
clergy. I was a clerk for Justice Blackmun in the term after Roe v. 
Wade was decided, and I can tell you that we all believed then very 
strongly that that Supreme Court decision would put to rest the 
question of legal access to abortion in this great country.
  In fact, it did not. Despite 7 in 10 Americans opposing the potential 
overturning of Roe v. Wade according to a recent survey by Pew Research 
Center, the outliers and extremists still seek to eliminate the right 
to legal abortion. That broad public support was embodied in the spirit 
and dedication shown over this past weekend by protesters across the 
world, and I was reminded yet again that we must continue to fight for 
what we believe, particularly in light of the ongoing threats to and 
attacks on women's health care.
  Efforts to undermine these rights have redoubled in recent years, and 
throughout the past decade we have seen unprecedented attacks through 
State efforts to chip away at that vitally protected constitutional 
right. From 2011 to 2016, there were 334 restrictions enacted by States 
that would cut back on Roe v. Wade rights, accounting for 30 percent of 
all abortion restrictions since the U.S. Supreme Court decided that 
case.
  The force dedicated to enacting these restrictions, which are 
designed to undermine the right to reproductive health care, can be 
particularly disheartening as they disregard the health needs of the 
most vulnerable population of the women who are most often impacted, by 
also seeking, or at least claiming to seek, to advance women's health 
care. In fact, many of those restrictions are a ruse. They are enacted 
in the name of health care but are a disguise for restrictions on 
health care. They have left many women, particularly in rural and 
underserved locations, with little access to health care, including 
basic care such as cancer screening, STD testing, and preventive health 
care. Clearly, improving women's health care has failed to be the focus 
of State legislatures in these instances, as they have actively worked 
to restrict access to care and chip away at the constitutional 
protections provided in Roe v. Wade.
  I joined with Senator Murray in leading a total of 163 Members of the 
House and Senate in filing an amicus brief in the case of Whole Woman's 
Health v. Hellerstedt. Last summer, the Supreme Court overturned the 
restriction at issue in that case, reiterating and clarifying the 
``undue burden'' standard in Roe and debunking the lie that anti-choice 
extremists have been pushing for years--that medically unnecessary, 
onerous restrictions on clinics and clinicians that provide women 
abortions do not make women safer. In fact, they simply constrain 
access.
  I am hopeful that this decision will help stem and stop the assault 
on women's health care taking place in so many States and communities 
around the country. So I am joining with my colleague, Senator Murray, 
who was here just minutes ago--a wonderful champion of this cause--as 
well as Senator Shaheen, whom I believe will be speaking later today on 
Roe v. Wade's anniversary, in pushing back on this policy by 
introducing legislation to permanently repeal the global gag rule that 
the Trump administration, as one of its first acts, has announced, 
which will reverse much of the progress that President Obama made in 
relation to international family planning. This legislation will seek 
to move that progress forward again and forestall the effort to roll 
back that process and turn back the clock. I will oppose any and all 
efforts by the Trump administration to move our country backwards, 
including yesterday's reversion to the global gag rule.
  This 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade should be a reminder about the 
importance of fighting for the right of privacy, the right to live life 
free of governmental interference, and, as one of our Supreme Court 
Justices said, the right to be let alone--in effect, let alone from 
government interference.
  It is a right that I have fought for and that so many others have 
fought for throughout my career and throughout my time as a Senator and 
the attorney general of Connecticut. It is a right we should all 
continue to keep at the forefront of our work here in the Senate and 
for all of us in this country.
  Thank you. I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

[[Page S412]]

  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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