Washington (June 24, 2023) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, and author of the Right to Contraception Act and the Judiciary Act, released the following statement today, marking one year since the far-right Supreme Court majority ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade and revoked the constitutional right to abortion:

“One year ago today, the right-wing Supreme Court, enabled by radical justices whose seats were stolen by Republicans in Congress, stole the constitutional right to abortion and fueled an extremist campaign to gut Americans’ freedom to make decisions about their health.

“In the last year, Republican politicians have forced themselves in between patients and their health care providers, blocked Americans from getting essential reproductive care, and showed the American people that they will not stop until there is a national ban on abortion. Just this week, when I, along with several other Democrats in Congress, gave them the opportunity to protect the right to abortion and to birth control, Republicans once again stood in the way and put extremist politics over public health.

“Congress must act, and—for the tens of millions of Americans living in states where fundamental reproductive health care is already banned or restricted—we must act with urgency.

“The path forward is clear. Congress must abolish the filibuster, protect the right to abortion and contraception, and expand the Supreme Court. Supreme Court justices may serve lifetime appointments, but we can’t wait a lifetime to right this injustice.”

Last week, Senator Markey reintroduced the Right to Contraception Act, legislation to codify and strengthen the right to contraception, which the Supreme Court first recognized more than half a century ago in its Griswold v. Connecticut decision. Last month, Senator Markey reintroduced his landmark Judiciary Act, legislation that would leverage Congressional precedent and authority to restore balance to the Supreme Court by adding four seats to create a 13-Justice bench.

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