[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 25, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2934-H2935]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       DOBBS DECISION ANNIVERSARY

  (Mrs. Sykes of Ohio was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago, the Supreme Court overturned 
Roe v. Wade, ripping away a constitutional right that generations of 
women had relied on for nearly one-half century.
  In that moment, the Court did not just revoke a legal precedent, they 
set in motion a wave of chaos, cruelty, and control. What followed was 
a full-scale assault on reproductive healthcare: abortion, 
contraception, IVF, and even access to emergency care.
  In Ohio, we felt the effects immediately. Just hours after the Dobbs 
decision was handed down, an extreme and deeply unpopular 6-week 
abortion ban went into effect, essentially outlawing abortion before 
many people even knew they are pregnant.
  That law put the lives of millions of women in danger overnight. It 
forced healthcare providers to choose between following their sworn 
oath to care for patients or facing criminal charges. It caused trauma 
and suffering that cannot be undone.
  In fact, Mr. Speaker, a 10-year-old rape victim was denied the care 
she needed and was forced to flee the State

[[Page H2935]]

to get the care that saved her life and her future.
  Yet, despite all of this, the people of Ohio did what we have always 
done in the face of injustice. We fought back.
  In November 2023, Ohioans from across the political spectrum came 
together and voted to enshrine reproductive freedom directly into our 
State's constitution: the ability to bear a child, to use 
contraception, and to access abortion care. It was a powerful, hopeful 
moment, but, Mr. Speaker, our work is far from over.
  That is because within days of that historic vote, Republican 
lawmakers in Ohio announced they would do everything in their power to 
prevent our laws from being removed.
  That is right. Just days after the people spoke loudly and clearly, 
some legislators pledged to ignore the will of the voters, and now they 
are following through. Just last week, members of the Ohio House of 
Representatives introduced one of the most extreme anti-choice bills in 
the country.
  This dangerous bill would ban nearly all abortions in Ohio, 
criminalize doctors, and potentially treat patients seeking care as 
criminals. Let me be crystal clear. Under this proposal, abortion could 
be prosecuted as homicide. There would be no meaningful exceptions, not 
for rape and not for incest.

  One of the bill's lead supporters, an anti-woman activist, was asked 
whether he worried this would overturn the will of the voters, the 
constitutional amendment the people of Ohio passed a couple of years 
ago. He said that he wasn't concerned. He said: ``The will of the 
voters was evil.''
  The will of the voters was evil.
  Mr. Speaker, I don't think I have heard anything less American. The 
will of the voters is the bedrock of our democracy, and just as these 
extremists want to take away the decisionmaking capabilities of women, 
they have not stopped there. They want to take away the decisionmaking 
capability of all Ohioans.
  That is the ideology we are up against. It is one where the voice of 
the people isn't just disregarded, but it is condemned. It is one where 
bodily autonomy is labeled evil. It is one where political extremists 
will stop at nothing, not even the State constitution, to impose their 
beliefs on the rest of us. It is chilling and it is dangerous.
  This uncertainty is not just an Ohio problem. The United States 
Supreme Court's recent decision in Moyle v. United States dismissed an 
opportunity to affirm that emergency abortion care is protected under 
Federal law. Instead, they punted, refusing to give clarity and 
refusing to give peace of mind to women and doctors across the country.
  That is why I introduced a resolution to reaffirm access to emergency 
care and abortion care to all Americans. That is why House Democrats 
have introduced bills to guarantee abortion rights across the country 
and protect access to birth control, IVF, and other fertility care.
  That is because at the heart of this fight there is something bigger 
than politics. It is about freedom, the freedom to control our own 
bodies. It is about the freedom to decide when, if, and how we grow our 
families and the freedom to choose our own futures on our own terms.
  We are the best people to make those decisions for ourselves. Mr. 
Speaker, there are a lot of brilliant minds here in this legislative 
Chamber and in State houses and in courts all across the country, but 
women do not need them to be in our most intimate decisionmaking 
moments. As a Representative of Ohio's 13th Congressional District, I 
will keep standing up for our freedom, and I will keep working to 
ensure our laws reflect our values.
  We must trust women. We must protect our rights, and we must never 
forget that democracy only works if we honor the will of the people.

                          ____________________