Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand slammed the Supreme Court justices named in the leaked draft opinion for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, calling them out for lying about their positions. The New York lawmaker told reporters on Thursday that she’s hoping SCOTUS is investigated over the justices’ decision to attack reproductive rights. It was her speech on the possible elimination of Roe v. Wade that truly gets at the heart of this issue, however. Gillibrand said it’s about a right to privacy and bodily autonomy and that any threat to those things constitutes a threat to our freedom. “We deserve to be able to make decisions about when we are having children, under what circumstances we are having children, how many children we are having, and at what time we are having children,” Gillibrand said.
“It is an outrage that we have five justices on the Supreme Court who lied, lied in their confirmation hearings, in order to be confirmed,” she continued. “It is an outrage that in America today, that our judicial system is so corrupted and so politicized and no longer representative of the will of the people. Five justices said they respect precedence, five said that Roe v. Wade was established precedent, five said they would never undermine established precedence. It is unconscionable what this decision will do to the American people. I do not think that 50% of America should be told that they have to put their bodies at risk of life or death without their consent.” Even prior to this leak, Pew found that 84% of Americans didn’t want justices’ biases influencing the court’s decisions. And a more recent poll from ABC News and The Washington Post found that 58% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in most cases.
Gillibrand called the threat to reproductive rights “barbaric” and “inhumane.” “It is unacceptable and I hope every human being in this country understands that when you take away a woman’s right to make her decisions about her health and well-being, she is no longer a full citizen. She no longer has freedom, she no longer has bodily autonomy, she no longer has basic civil rights or civil liberties,” Gillibrand said. “That is what this decision would do in America today. Make no mistake, equal rights, constitutional rights to privacy, the ability to make your own decisions about your own life and your own death are on the ballot in November. I hope there is no one who’s confused about this. It may happen to your daughter, it may happen to your wife, it may happen to your mother, it may happen to your transgender friend, it may happen to anyone and it’s not acceptable.”
Overturning Roe v. Wade has damning consequences for some of the most vulnerable people in the U.S. and will disproportionately harm people of color. Fighting for the rights of those who can get pregnant doesn’t just come down to women’s rights. Reproductive rights are an intersectional issue and one of the most consequential, not just for those who can become pregnant but for anyone interested in equality. As Gillibrand says, “This is a life or death moment and we need to fight like it is.” Democrats are introducing a measure next week to codify Roe v. Wade, with a Senate vote expected to take place on Wednesday.
Christine Pelosi talks about the Supreme Court's leaked decision on Roe v. Wade, and what Democrats are doing now, on Daily Kos’ The Brief podcast