Week In Review 2-28-2020

Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) this week once again showed that he is only loyal to the President's personal, political agenda and not the welfare of the country. He took a break from pushing through anti-choice judges to bring to the floor two bills aimed at banning abortion and criminalizing doctors who offer counsel and provide abortion services. 

The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would ban abortion at 20 weeks and is contrary to the 24-week threshold established by Roe v. Wade. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act could criminalize doctors for performing abortions.  These bills are designed to spread misinformation, distort the truth, shame pregnant people and doctors, and ultimately ban abortion.

There are more than 400 pieces of legislation sitting on McConnell's desk that deal with a host of issues, including gun violence protection, election security, and the environment. These bills directly impact the welfare of families and our country. However, McConnell refuses to act - except on anti-choice bills and judges.

Also, this week the Ninth Circuit voted to uphold the dangerous and unethical Title X gag rule. The rule makes it illegal for any provider in the Title X program to tell patients how or where to access abortion, and imposes cost-prohibitive and unnecessary "physical separation" restrictions on health centers that provide abortion. 

More than 25 percent of active judges on all branches of the courts are Trump appointees. Many of these judges have fought to limit access to abortion and or contraception prior to their appointments. They harbor extreme views on women's access to reproductive health care. They are sitting on the courts to fulfill Trump's goal to overturn Roe.

With the judges confirmed by the Senate, today we cannot count on the courts to ensure our Constitutional right to abortion and reproductive health care. It will only be a matter of time that without a solid pro-choice Senate, these anti-choice bills might pass. We will be left without any judicial recourse for protections.

The Senate matters. 

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