Sunday, July 16, 2023 | 2 a.m.
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It’s been just over one year since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, and to put it simply, the impact has been devastating for women.
We’ve heard gut-wrenching stories from across the country of little girls who were raped, became pregnant as a result, and were forced to carry the pregnancy. We’ve heard the real-life horror stories of women who were miscarrying and nearly died because lawyers thought they were not “sick enough” to be provided with lifesaving care. And we’ve seen alarming reports of doctors being sued or threatened with jail time simply for doing their jobs and providing care to their patients.
Here in Nevada, we believe that these are decisions best made between women and their doctors. And thanks to our strong pro-choice state laws, Nevada women continue to have the freedom to make their own health care choices.
But we must be realistic about the threats that lie ahead for all women, including those in Nevada.
Anti-choice politicians have been attempting to use every legislative and judicial tool they can scheme up to try to effectively ban or restrict abortion nationwide. They’ve pursued bans on access to abortion medication that women across the United States have safely used for decades. We’ve even seen them go further, with extreme Republicans in Congress having introduced legislation to enact a nationwide abortion ban.
Anti-choice politicians are also actively trying to punish women who travel to pro-choice states like ours to seek reproductive care, and they want to prosecute the doctors who provide them with the care they need.
This all-out assault on our reproductive freedoms is beyond wrong, and I want you to know that I’m fighting back in the U.S. Senate.
I’ve helped introduce the Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Care Act to protect doctors and medical professionals who provide reproductive care in states like ours from facing prosecution for doing their jobs. Simply put, we can’t let a doctor in Nevada be prosecuted by Texas or Florida just because that medical professional provided reproductive care.
I’m also supporting legislation to protect women’s fundamental right to travel for reproductive health care, and to block anti-choice states from restricting women’s ability to travel for abortion care.
And I helped introduce the Women’s Health Protection Act, comprehensive legislation to undo the rigid restrictions imposed by politicians on our reproductive freedoms and restore them as part of federal law.
It is outrageous that these are the fights we are having in 2023, on issues that, until recently, were settled. But we cannot stand still — we need to fully protect the right of women to decide what to do when it comes to their own health care.
Republicans in Congress have shown a desire to push forward with their plans for a national abortion ban. But let me be clear: We won’t let them.
As long as I’m in the Senate and we continue to have a pro-choice majority, we won’t let a restrictive abortion ban pass. We will vote it down every time it comes up.
Even one year later, I know many women continue to feel sad, angry and even helpless at the attacks on our rights. I want Nevada women to know that they are not alone. Let’s use what we’re feeling to achieve positive change. I’m right there with you every step of the way, and I’ll continue fighting in the Senate to preserve and expand our freedoms.
Jacky Rosen was elected to represent Nevada in the U.S. Senate in 2018.
