The 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Saturday came on the heels of one of the most treacherous years for abortion rights in our country. For decades, anti-choice politicians have been chipping away at reproductive care, and now hard-liners are eagerly digging Roe’s grave.
Nevada has become a refuge for seekers of reproductive care who come from 19 states that enacted a total of 108 abortion restrictions in 2021 — the highest number since Roe v. Wade was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court nearly half a century ago.
This year is on track to be an even worse threat to reproductive rights, as Republican lawmakers at all levels of government look to double down on their efforts to strike down the right to choose and take the fight to our nation’s highest court.
And states across the country are ready to restrict reproductive care if Roe is overturned and force women into dangerous circumstances. In fact, 24 states have already introduced bills that would restrict or outright ban abortion care if Roe is overturned. Roe is our last defense against these dangerous laws, and it’s under attack. Soon, our Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case that directly challenges the constitutional right to abortion established 49 years ago. This case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is a challenge to Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, and the Supreme Court’s decision could be fatal to the longstanding precedent set by Roe. We must do more to embed reproductive rights into our nation’s law.
I have spoken with women and women’s health care professionals across my district who are growing increasingly concerned as Republicans continue to attack abortion rights across the country. Luckily, Nevada already has the voter-affirmed right to abortion care. However, we cannot stop fighting until all women are no longer under the threat of being criminalized for making personal decisions about their health.
That is why, as we mark 49 years since Roe became the law of the land, I am calling on the Senate to vote to send the Women’s Health Protection Act to President Joe Biden’s desk so American women do not have to live in fear of a future without the right to choose.
It’s simple: I voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act because politics doesn’t belong in the doctor’s office and should have no bearing on an individual’s health care decisions. As a Catholic, I have a deep understanding of the moral dilemma that the choice to have an abortion presents. At the same time, the choice to become a mother is an extremely personal one, and that choice should stay between a woman, her family and her doctor. When extremists insert themselves into this decision, they refuse to recognize women’s bodily autonomy, potentially put them in life-threatening circumstances, and often coerce them into having a future that they neither wanted nor prepared for.
The Women’s Health Protection Act will guarantee the federal right to access abortion care, free from political interference. It will ensure that patients can access — and health care providers can provide — abortion services without medically unnecessary and dangerous restrictions. These kinds of restrictions only do further damage to the millions of women who face obstacles to attaining health care in their day-to-day lives. This includes women of color, who already experience significant health disparities, and women in rural areas, who face seemingly insurmountable barriers to accessing care, from lack of transportation to shortages of health care providers. If the Senate passes the Women’s Health Protection Act, we will move one major step forward in ensuring that a woman’s right to choose abortion is a reality for all women, no matter their ZIP code.
The urgency of this moment cannot be overstated. We must act now because if Roe is overturned, the consequences will be catastrophic.
I will always be a fierce advocate in the fight to ensure that women have the freedom to seek unrestrained and medically accurate advice from their doctors and make their own decisions about their health and their bodies. Protecting the right to safe, legal abortion will be an uphill battle, but I will never back down. My colleagues in the Senate must do the same and refuse to allow the reversal of nearly 50 years of precedent.
We don’t know what this new year holds for our nation, but we do know it is crucial for us to take control and codify Roe’s legacy before it is too late.
Rep. Susie Lee was elected to Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District seat in 2018 and re-elected in 2020.