Rep. Ayanna Pressley blasts ‘draconian’ laws as SCOTUS abortion case looms

EXCLUSIVE: Pressley is calling for Congress to “stand in the gap” as a way to lessen the blow to social issues that have been ravished by recent Supreme Court decisions.

California Congresswoman Barabara Lee and Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush laid their abortion stories bare during testimonies on Capitol Hill that detailed pregnancies that resulted from rape and the pressure of making the life changing decision to end their pregnancies.

“To all the Black women and girls who have had abortions or will have abortions, we have nothing to be ashamed of. We live in a society that has failed to legislate love and justice for us. So we deserve better. We demand better. We are worthy of better,” Bush explained. “So that’s why I’m here to tell my story.”

The courage and candor displayed by the women of the House is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to women who we will likely see speaking out about their abortions as the clock counts down to a United States Supreme Court case scheduled for Dec. 1.

The suit from Mississippi challenges whether a state could ban abortion all together. This case is a direct challenge to Roe. V. Wade that gives the federal guideline as to the timeline an abortion can take place when a woman is pregnant.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently cautioned that there will be “a lot of disappointment in the law” as it relates to rulings from the now conservative-majority high court.

Democratic Hill lawmakers are concerned about the new efforts to overturn Roe V. Wade. A recent abortion restriction in Texas that has caused national outrage from abortion advocates. In a recent interview with TheGrio, Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley blasted the new law, and others like it, as “draconian.”

When it comes the anticipation of the Supreme Court case and matters of abortion, Pressley said “the extremism of the Supreme Court has proven that they are not on the people’s side when it comes to voting rights, housing rights or reproductive freedom.”

Pressley is calling for Congress to “stand in the gap” as a way to lessen the blow to these social issues that have been ravished by court decisions.

The two-term Congresswoman has co-sponsored a bill that has been introduced by Congresswoman Judy Chu since 2013. The bill that aims to codify Roe v. Wade passed the Democratic-controlled House but requires a vote in the evenly split U.S. Senate.

“Now I’m calling on Senator Schumer to pass that bill quickly out of the Senate and to get it to President Biden’s desk for signature,” Pressley said.

A main concern Pressley and others have is that these state laws and any potential role back from the Supreme Court would make the abortion process unsafe.

“In addition to this court on Roe v. Wade, on the federal level, it will also ban the introduction of harmful state laws like the draconian and dangerous one introduced in Texas,” Pressley stated.

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