Pelosi says Supreme Court is ‘eviscerating American rights’ following Roe decision

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday slammed the Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade, arguing that the justices are “eviscerating American rights.”
Pelosi — in remarks at her weekly press conference, which took place minutes after the decision was released — said the ruling is an “insult” and “a slap in the face to women.”
“This morning, the radical Supreme Court is eviscerating American rights and endangering their health and safety,” Pelosi said.
“Today the Republican-controlled Supreme Court has achieved their dark, extreme goal of ripping away a women’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions,” she added.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Friday morning to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and overturn Roe v. Wade, which requires that states allow abortion until the point of fetal viability, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which reaffirmed Roe’s central decision.
“The hypocrisy is raging, but the harm is endless. What this means to women is such an insult. It’s a slap in the face to women about using their own judgment to make their own decisions about their reproductive freedom,” Pelosi said.
Speculation regarding the case had been building for weeks after a draft majority opinion leaked showing the bench poised to overturn the nearly 50-year precedent.
Friday’s opinion, however, made the ruling official.
Pelsoi on Friday blamed top GOP figures and the Republican Party as a whole for the decision.
“Because of Donald Trump, [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell, the Republican Party, their supermajority and the Supreme Court, American women today have less freedom than their mothers. With Roe and their attempt to destroy it, radical Republicans are charging ahead with their crusade to criminalize health freedom,” she said.
The Speaker also accused Republicans in Congress of “plotting a nationwide abortion ban.”
“They cannot be allowed to have a majority in the Congress to do that. But that’s their goal,” she added.
The House in September passed a bill, titled the Women’s Health Protection Act, that would codify Roe v. Wade, after the Supreme Court earlier that month said it would not block a Texas abortion law that called for banning all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
But in the Senate, Democrats did not — and do not — have enough votes to clear the measure.
In February, the Senate voted down the legislation, 46-48, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance it to debate. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joined all Senate Republicans in voting down the bill.
Some Democrats are renewing calls for the Senate to abolish the filibuster to protect abortion rights, an unlikely feat because of opposition to the move within the party.
Pelosi on Friday vowed that “Democrats will keep fighting ferociously to enshrine Roe v. Wade into law of the land.” She told The Hill that the House is reviewing “several” pieces of legislation in the wake of the decision.
Asked what the legislation would do, she said, “I’m not prepared to tell you that right now because there are several of them, and we’ll just see how we prioritize them.”
“But we’re not resting, and they won’t go by,” she added.
Pressed on when the House would bring up such bills, Pelosi told The Hill “We’ll bring them up when we’re ready.”
During her press conference on Friday, the Speaker stressed the importance of the upcoming midterm elections, saying “reproductive freedom is on the ballot in November.” She also pointed to the House passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act.
“In order to make it the law of the land it is clear that we just have to win a majority in November. Everything is at stake,” she said
“If you are a woman, if you care about women, if you respect women, you know that this is a disgraceful, disgraceful, judgment that they made,” she added.
Later in the press conference, Pelosi said “there is a plan,” pointing to the midterms.
“That plan is to win the election, hopefully to get two more senators so that we can change the obstacles to passing laws for the good of our country,” she said.
—Updated at 5:24 p.m.
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