This cannot stand

PHOTO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich stands with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol in solidarity with women’s right to make their own health care decisions, May 3, 2022.

Dear Friend,

The Supreme Court’s draft opinion on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that was leaked yesterday is a direct threat to a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions and a dangerous step toward dismantling every American’s right to privacy.

A woman has a right to make her own health care decisions without the government getting between her and her medical providers. That right shouldn’t depend on what state she lives in or how far she can afford to drive.

Last year, I cosponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill that would protect the right to abortion throughout the United States. I also joined a bicameral amicus brief in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, urging the Supreme Court to uphold nearly 50 years of precedent in Roe v. Wade and protect the constitutional right to abortion care.

Right now, that all hangs in the balance. And if the Court can overturn settled law and established precedent like Roe v. Wade, we shouldn’t be surprised when they come for the decisions that guaranteed same-sex marriage and access to birth control. This is the tip of a very ugly iceberg.

The Court’s decision to take this case and the draft majority opinion make two things clear. The Senate must urgently pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to codify reproductive rights. And the radical-conservative majority of the United States Supreme Court has chosen politics over our constitutional rights.

This cannot stand.

Sincerely,

MARTIN HEINRICH
United States Senator