[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 11 (Monday, January 22, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S195]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Roe v. Wade

  Madam President, now, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, today, 
January 22, 2024, should have marked 51 years of Roe v. Wade. The 
anniversary of Roe should be a joyous day for America, a day when the 
Supreme Court officially recognized a woman's right to make her own 
decisions about her body. But for decades, the hard right has made it 
their mission to overturn Roe and dismantle a woman's fundamental right 
to choose. And, in 2022, tragically, alarmingly, outrageously, the hard 
right succeeded when a 5-4 majority of extremist Justices on the 
Supreme Court overturned Roe, inflicting the greatest restriction of 
rights on Americans in over 50 years.
  It has just been a year and a half since the disastrous Dobbs 
decision, but it has already proved to be one of the worst, most 
damaging decisions for Americans in modern history. Since the hard 
right's Roe reversal, one in three Americans has lost abortion access; 
21 States have enacted draconian, near-total bans. Republicans in 
Florida just introduced a ban on nearly all abortions, even--even--in 
the case of rape and incest. And, earlier this month, the Supreme Court 
allowed an extreme abortion ban denying women critical emergency care 
to go back into effect.
  Make no mistake about it. The hard right won't stop there. They will 
keep going until a Federal abortion ban is the law of the land.
  Let me say that again. The hard right will keep going until a Federal 
abortion ban is the law of the land.
  Because of the hard right's policies, women and girls today are 
growing up in a world with fewer liberties than previous generations. 
My granddaughter will have fewer rights than her grandmother. These 
extreme bans have caused chaos and inflicted irreparable harm on 
thousands and thousands of women whose stories we will never hear.
  Democrats will not accept this new MAGA status quo, and neither will 
the American people. Since the Dobbs decision, people in States like 
Ohio and Kentucky and Kansas and Michigan have defeated efforts at the 
ballot box to restrict abortion access and protect a woman's right to 
choose.
  The message from the American people to MAGA extremists has been 
loud, clear, and unmistakable: Back off our fundamental rights. And 
make no mistake. A woman's right to choose will remain a defining issue 
for Americans as this year progresses.
  So we still have a long way to go, but the Democrats will never stop 
fighting for a woman's right to choose.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. BUTLER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.