As SCOTUS Prepares to Overturn Roe, Murray and Hirono Host Abortion Storyteller Roundtable To Hear Directly From Patients

Senator Murray: “No one is untouched by this Supreme Court’s decision—or Republicans’ increasingly extreme policies here in Congress and in states across the country. Especially when we know that Republicans are already pushing for a nationwide abortion ban. This fight isn’t over. Far from it.”
  

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) hosted a roundtable with patients from across the country to hear directly about how Roe and the right to abortion have shaped their lives—and to make clear what’s at stake with the Supreme Court set to end Americans’ constitutional right to abortion any day.

“Make no mistake: Republicans are dragging our country backward by 50 years. Republicans are shredding our rights—making this generation the first generation of Americans with fewer rights than their parents,” said Senator Murray. “Republicans are forcing people to carry their pregnancies to term—when they don’t want to and aren’t ready to—no matter their circumstances.”

“No one is untouched by this Supreme Court’s decision—or Republicans’ increasingly extreme policies here in Congress and in states across the country. Especially when we know that Republicans are already pushing for a nationwide abortion ban. And part of our fight includes what the patients joining us here are doing: bravely sharing their stories—and sharing with us what the right to abortion means in their lives,” added Murray.

“What could be more fundamental than our right to control our own bodies? To wake up one morning to realize we no longer control our own bodies, which is exactly what will happen when the Supreme Court decision is made public and final,” said Senator Hirono. “That’s what we’re facing in this country. The impact of this decision is going to be deep and wide and, tragically, felt by millions and millions of people in this country. There are so many consequences of the elimination of Roe v. Wade that we have only begun to really recognize. The bottom line is that we need to tell our stories and organize.”

“We’re now approaching 10 months living under SB8, the 6-week abortion ban in Texas, and awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. To say that we’ve already been experiencing a string of overlapping crises feels like an understatement,” said Sarah, a We Testify storyteller. “My abortion allowed me to recognize my power and create a life for myself that I’m proud of.”

“We are very grateful for Senators Murray and Hirono’s leadership during this challenging time. The potential upending of Roe v. Wade will devastate the more than 60 percent of abortion recipients who are people of color,” said Isra Pananon Weeks, Interim Executive Director and Chief of Staff, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF). “Reproductive justice is a matter of life and death, and the path to abortion care can be an arduous one – AAPI community members can face language barriers, stigmas, and low rates of insurance obstructing their access to reproductive freedom.”

Since the leaked decision in Dobbs, Senator Murray has been a leader in the Senate pushing back: immediately calling the decision a “five alarm fire,” pushing for a vote on WHPA so every Republican Senator was forced to show the American public where they stood, and urging the Biden Administration to act to protect abortion rights. She has also encouraged patients across the country to speak out and share what Roe has meant in their lives.

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