Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Cori Bush, and Barbara Lee are testifying at a hearing of the House Oversight Committee on their personal stories of obtaining abortion care. (Photo: NBC)
Sep 30, 2021
Reproductive rights advocates on Thursday expressed gratitude to three Democratic congresswomen ahead of their testimonies at a House Oversight Committee hearing on protecting abortion access, as Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) planned to share their own personal stories of obtaining abortion care.
"Thank you for your vulnerability to advance justice," said Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) on social media to her colleagues ahead of the hearing.
The three lawmakers are testifying at the committee's hearing on "Examining the Urgent Need to Protect and Expand Abortion Rights and Access" beginning at 10:00am.
Watch the hearing below:
"Today, I am testifying before you because I want you to know there are so many different situations that people face in making these choices," said Jayapal. "It is simply no one's business what choices we as pregnant people make about our bodies."
On Wednesday evening, Bush, Jayapal, and Lee also shared their personal stories in an interview with MSNBC correspondent Ali Vitali.
\u201c.@alivitali did some really powerful interviews with Congresswomen @CoriBush @RepBarbaraLee @RepJayapal, who all shared their abortion story.\n\nhttps://t.co/3jkeYhMei4\u201d— Rachel Witkin (@Rachel Witkin) 1632959661
"When I found out that I was pregnant it was very difficult because I still didn't understand what was happening," said Bush, who became pregnant as the result of being raped at the age of 17. "I just knew I wasn't ready for a child."
"I am not ashamed," Bush said on Twitter Wednesday.
Jayapal shared that she had an abortion after getting pregnant following her first "incredibly difficult pregnancy," after which she suffered severe postpartum depression.
"I just realized that there was no way I could have another baby at that time and that I could not go through what I had gone through," said the congresswoman.
The hearing comes days after the House passed the Women's Health Protection Act, which would ensure access to legal abortion care in every state, and is being held amid increasingly extreme attacks on reproductive rights in Republican-led states, including the passage of Texas' six-week abortion ban, S.B. 8. In December, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a Mississippi case which directly challenges Roe vs. Wade.
"The Senate and the White House must act swiftly to pass [the Women's Health Protection Act] and sign it into law," said Pressley at the hearing. "It has been 30 days since the Texas law went into effect. Each day that goes by without congressional action more and more people are denied their constitutional right to critical abortion care."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Reproductive rights advocates on Thursday expressed gratitude to three Democratic congresswomen ahead of their testimonies at a House Oversight Committee hearing on protecting abortion access, as Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) planned to share their own personal stories of obtaining abortion care.
"Thank you for your vulnerability to advance justice," said Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) on social media to her colleagues ahead of the hearing.
The three lawmakers are testifying at the committee's hearing on "Examining the Urgent Need to Protect and Expand Abortion Rights and Access" beginning at 10:00am.
Watch the hearing below:
"Today, I am testifying before you because I want you to know there are so many different situations that people face in making these choices," said Jayapal. "It is simply no one's business what choices we as pregnant people make about our bodies."
On Wednesday evening, Bush, Jayapal, and Lee also shared their personal stories in an interview with MSNBC correspondent Ali Vitali.
\u201c.@alivitali did some really powerful interviews with Congresswomen @CoriBush @RepBarbaraLee @RepJayapal, who all shared their abortion story.\n\nhttps://t.co/3jkeYhMei4\u201d— Rachel Witkin (@Rachel Witkin) 1632959661
"When I found out that I was pregnant it was very difficult because I still didn't understand what was happening," said Bush, who became pregnant as the result of being raped at the age of 17. "I just knew I wasn't ready for a child."
"I am not ashamed," Bush said on Twitter Wednesday.
Jayapal shared that she had an abortion after getting pregnant following her first "incredibly difficult pregnancy," after which she suffered severe postpartum depression.
"I just realized that there was no way I could have another baby at that time and that I could not go through what I had gone through," said the congresswoman.
The hearing comes days after the House passed the Women's Health Protection Act, which would ensure access to legal abortion care in every state, and is being held amid increasingly extreme attacks on reproductive rights in Republican-led states, including the passage of Texas' six-week abortion ban, S.B. 8. In December, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a Mississippi case which directly challenges Roe vs. Wade.
"The Senate and the White House must act swiftly to pass [the Women's Health Protection Act] and sign it into law," said Pressley at the hearing. "It has been 30 days since the Texas law went into effect. Each day that goes by without congressional action more and more people are denied their constitutional right to critical abortion care."
Reproductive rights advocates on Thursday expressed gratitude to three Democratic congresswomen ahead of their testimonies at a House Oversight Committee hearing on protecting abortion access, as Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) planned to share their own personal stories of obtaining abortion care.
"Thank you for your vulnerability to advance justice," said Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) on social media to her colleagues ahead of the hearing.
The three lawmakers are testifying at the committee's hearing on "Examining the Urgent Need to Protect and Expand Abortion Rights and Access" beginning at 10:00am.
Watch the hearing below:
"Today, I am testifying before you because I want you to know there are so many different situations that people face in making these choices," said Jayapal. "It is simply no one's business what choices we as pregnant people make about our bodies."
On Wednesday evening, Bush, Jayapal, and Lee also shared their personal stories in an interview with MSNBC correspondent Ali Vitali.
\u201c.@alivitali did some really powerful interviews with Congresswomen @CoriBush @RepBarbaraLee @RepJayapal, who all shared their abortion story.\n\nhttps://t.co/3jkeYhMei4\u201d— Rachel Witkin (@Rachel Witkin) 1632959661
"When I found out that I was pregnant it was very difficult because I still didn't understand what was happening," said Bush, who became pregnant as the result of being raped at the age of 17. "I just knew I wasn't ready for a child."
"I am not ashamed," Bush said on Twitter Wednesday.
Jayapal shared that she had an abortion after getting pregnant following her first "incredibly difficult pregnancy," after which she suffered severe postpartum depression.
"I just realized that there was no way I could have another baby at that time and that I could not go through what I had gone through," said the congresswoman.
The hearing comes days after the House passed the Women's Health Protection Act, which would ensure access to legal abortion care in every state, and is being held amid increasingly extreme attacks on reproductive rights in Republican-led states, including the passage of Texas' six-week abortion ban, S.B. 8. In December, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a Mississippi case which directly challenges Roe vs. Wade.
"The Senate and the White House must act swiftly to pass [the Women's Health Protection Act] and sign it into law," said Pressley at the hearing. "It has been 30 days since the Texas law went into effect. Each day that goes by without congressional action more and more people are denied their constitutional right to critical abortion care."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.