As if the GOP’s obsession with rolling back our reproductive rights wasn’t obvious enough, the Senate voted on an unconstitutional abortion ban this week. That’s right, just days after a government shutdown, the GOP-led Congress is wasting taxpayer time and money on an abortion ban that will put women at grave risk. This tells you everything you need to know about their priorities.
An obvious attempt to chip away at our rights, this abortion ban is the latest step the GOP is taking toward their ultimate goal: to overturn Roe v. Wade and outlaw abortion.
Let’s remember that this isn’t just about politics, this is about people who deserve to make a very difficult decision for themselves, along with their families and doctors—not with a politician weighing in. These unconstitutional abortion bans disproportionately hurt women and families who face some of the most medically complex situations imaginable.
NARAL member Kate Carson told her powerful story in Elle ahead of the GOP’s abortion ban vote:
“I shut it all out. When I called my husband from the humming darkness of the ultrasound room, the only sound I could muster was a deep, long wail… My wall of hope and denial crashed down around me. I could not subject my child to that kind of suffering. I wished for a miracle, but I would not risk my daughter’s wellbeing. My heart sang clearly: I would give my daughter peace. Abortion was the choice to meet our family’s values and our daughter’s needs—it was the option we could live with.”
Anton Schlesinger and Nicole Stewart share their story in Esquire:
“There were two situations in front of us, and both of them were horrible,” says Nicole. “One was that we brought a child into the world who would never have a normal life and would probably only live a few months. And then there was this other possibility, which I think we all felt very, very grateful for, that we could terminate the pregnancy. Our parents were all very supportive.”
And NARAL member Cheryl Axelrod shared her powerful story in Vox last year:
“During what we thought was a routine checkup, we found out that my first son, my loved and waited for child, would be born with cloacal exstrophy…After eagerly preparing for our child, my husband and I were told there was little hope he would survive past delivery. We both agreed that as his parents, our responsibility was to save him terrible and futile suffering.”
And Rachel Redmond shared her experience in Women’s Health Magazine just this week:
“It was awful to make that choice… But I knew in my heart it was the best thing for us and the right thing to do. It was the only kind thing we could do for this baby. Otherwise, we’d be trapping him in a broken body.”
Women and families need understanding, information, and support, not unconstitutional abortion bans that take away their options and call their decision making into question. Politicians have no business deciding if, when, and how a woman should grow her family, and this abortion ban is the GOP’s latest attempt to control women’s lives, bodies and futures.