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Video Transcript
Eloquent t shirts here in the room and then you have them representing organizations who have been there all along to support the constitution of the United States and that's what this is all about I'm honored to be here with everyone gathered here but particularly on a uh indicate the leadership of congresswoman Diana to get income from far billy as champions uh Co chairs of our pro choice a caucus I want to acknowledge the loss of louise slaughter who Relentless dissatisfied persistent champion of women's right to choose her whole life and she is continues to inspire us we're pleased to be joined by the ranking member during adler ranking member of the judiciary Committee the Committee of jurisdiction uh Council and brenda lawrence O Co chair of the Democratic women's working group gente Cal ski a member of the energy and Commerce Committee which has some of the jurisdiction here and neighborhood President the least hope oh An oil well let me just say where many other members who are here you're here from the persons I mentioned but we're joined by Mike Thompson of California some good man here Jimmy gomez of California of susan Davis of California alma Adams have North Carolina I got the chair of the Democratic women's working group lois frankel account of Florida uh councilman judy chew of California chair of the congressional Asian Pacific caucus Is that others will be coming and going as you know this is a working farm people are all in their committees or on the floor doing the important work this is so important because last year thanks to the relentless activism of so many strong women we dedicated the mantras that defeated the monstrosity of trump care which would have dragged us back to the days when being a woman was a preexisting condition and I say on that score we are able to defeat that because of the activism of so many People outside because of so many of you and other organizations that were 10000 events around the country whether there were sit ins press conferences round table discussions marches whatever they were 10000 events to defeat trump care so while we can do just so much with inside maneuvering without having majority the outside mobilization uh saved the day and saved a woman's right to choose now we must mobilize more than ever Again to defeat the threat to a woman's right to choose 45 years ago the Supreme court declared that a woman's right to choose is protected by the constitution today that right is under direct dire threat from a Republican Congress that tries to interfere in a woman's right most private personal decisions on a regular basis from a President who shows no respect for women women and from now from the Supreme court nominee with a proven and Stability to women's reproductive rights judge kavanaugh was hand pick from a list of radical nominees for his strong support for dismantling a woman's right to choose the President has said it himself it did undead roe v Wade will be repealed will be overturn a vote for judge kavanaugh is a vote to destroy roe v Wade is not just about that it's a as important as that is it's about women's health it's about House of all American It's a vote to roll back a generation of progress for women and their families but we don't agonized we organize because we know that a Democratic Congress can stop much of the spring course awful assault you remember one of the first bill that President Obama signed when he became President of the United States under a Democratic Congress with a Democratic Congress the first bill he signed was the lilly led better legislation and that was to correct A decision of the Supreme court and the action taken by the Supreme court we know that we could correct what the court said about voting rights if the Republicans would only build bring such a bill to the floor so Congress has a role to mitigate for damage caused by the court and we have to assert that right but first we have to work to say that we shouldn't be appointing someone to the court that does not support start assizes previous decisions of the court especially uh one that the President has Is this a done deal and the first bill once I mentioned was about lily led better so here we are Democrats and we think that's a raw deal for america's women and america's families the Democrats propose a better deal with lower health cost and stronger protections for women and their families this week we will celebrate the 100 and 70 fifth anniversary of the women's rights convention in seneca falls a hundred and 70 years ago imagine the These women you goodness in frederick douglass one where pioneer woman took shock the world with a simple declaration we hold these truths to be self evident that all men and women are created equal such is now the necessity for women to demand equal station to which they are entitled that is stand shoulder to shoulder with those heroes as we defend the equality and basic rights they fought for and now it is my privilege to yield with great respect and gratitude for her leadership on this issue and Who has not only been an advocate and a legislator about a successful uh challenge uh to assault on a woman's right to choose in the courts Congress someone dying to get out of Colorado Thank you so much Nancy and thank you for your steadfast leadership on a woman's right to choose and a woman's right to health care your leadership really compels us to all go forward strongly uh congressman Lee and I as Co chairs of the congressional pro choice caucus are deeply concern about the nomination of judge brett kavanaugh were concerned how he's gonna roll on general health care for Americans and particularly women but we're most concerned about how he's going to rule on cases involving women's health privacy and our constant Actually protected right to access the full range of reproductive services including abortion care this is a right that has been protected since 19 73 I don't think I have to tell anybody here this is the most consequential Supreme court nomination in a generation decisions made by this court will effect your ce prudence for decades our fear is that the court will take advantage of its power to roll back deck It's worth of progress on women's rights including the right to affordable and accessible health care based on his stated views and based on the way the trump administration made his nomination via recommendations from conservative groups like the federal society who Harbor a blatant anti choice agenda it's pretty clear that judge kavanaugh will vote to rescind these rights if confirmed to the court judge kavanaugh and Servant of Supreme court majority we'll be able to carry out a far right agenda long after donald trump leaves the White House or is removed from office make no mistake nominee kavanaugh will try to overturn roe versus Wade and also to get the women's health provisions in the affordable care act as a candidate and as President donald trump repeatedly said that his goal was to nominate people to the Supreme court Who would reverse roe versus Wade I take him at that word at least in addition to judge kavanaugh as anti choice anti affordable care act rhetoric and decisions he's also case you haven't noticed disturbed express disturbing views on the parameters of executive branch power in fact he's gone so far as to indicate that he would not be an independent check on this President or any other and that presidents should not be subject to the same rules of law and order as the regular populous in light of the last week's events I think that's a very poor choice for the Supreme court and we can't let the highest court in the land we dragged back into the last century when it comes to reproductive rights I want to assure you that the pro choice caucus which numbers now over a hundred and 60 members of Congress intends to fan out across this country over the House August recess and to put pressure on our senators to make sure that judge kavanaugh has a full and fair hearing and that the number one priority is preservation Women's health and women's rights and women's access to reproductive health and we are not going to stop until his actual views are revealed to this country thank you very much madam leader for convening this and and uh thank you and thank you thank you for convening us thank you all of you for being here let's get ready to get to work and now I want to introduce uh somebody who has dedicated years and years to this issue uh and who is Our intellectual source the um soon to be chairman of the judiciary Committee Jerry natl are Thank you very much diane and thank you leader pelosi for calling us together for this occasion to thank all of you for being here uh for this morning session we know what's at stake with this nomination we know what we have to lose nothing short of women's rights to access safe legal abortion where they live judge kavanaugh could be the deciding vote then either overturn zero view way or undermines it to the point where it is a constitutional right that no one can exercise his decisions in the past demonstrated his willingness to chip away at abortion rights to put what he sees State's interest above the rights of women to access an abortion the state can and many many to claim just about anything is a state interest when trying to stop women from accessing abortions and if judge kavanaugh won't stand in their way the right to abortion even if technically still there will be useless if you can only get an abortion after seven appointments to ultrasounds in a soundproof room on the moon with six doctors and epa dieters present you no longer actually have the right to access an abortion and we know what happened When you take away the right to safe legal abortion we've seen it before in 19 65 less than 10 years before roe was decided seven teen percent of maternal deaths were because of unsafe illegal abortions in countries today where abortion is illegal a severely limited up to 13 percent of maternal deaths are due to unsafe abortions overturning or undermining roe won't reduce the number of abortions but it will result in more women dying and we know in fact that the maternal death rate from a pregnancy Carried to term is higher than for an abortion so anybody tells you the nonsense that while you helping women's health by reducing abortions is lying that's what we need to know from brett kavanaugh does he believe roe is settled law and women have a constitutional right to an abortion does he believe the holding was rightly decided when it was decided that he recognized there was a President who will uphold as a Supreme court Justice and just as important will he pledge not to approve state or other laws that limit row as a practical manner we know what's at stake We know women's freedom to pursue their dreams start their families excel in their careers and live their lives is on the line we will not back down and let that freedom slip away and we must all be vigilant because that freedom could slip away very very easily I think people have been complacent for a couple of generations we cannot be complacent now the emergency is upon us now and we must react accordingly I thank you and I Um uh I now have the pleasure of introducing a leader in women's rights and in so many other things in this Congress congresswoman barbara Lee of California thank First let me thank leader pelosi for bringing us all together today but more importantly for your tremendous leadership over the years on behalf of American families on behalf of women on behalf of children on behalf of the country thank you so much and also to uh congresswoman Diana together uh I wanna just thank Diana in her absence for her tremendous leadership with our beloved congresswoman louise slaughter for so many years also I just wanna give a shout out to all of you today um you keep us inspired and vigilant and as we say in my district stay woke you're keeping us Here and it's an honor to be here with all of my sisters and brothers in the struggle who fight for women and good times and in trouble times like many here um I remember the days of back alley abortions of the days when just being a woman of course was a preexisting condition the days when access to health care was denied especially to low income women and women of color and if donald trump and Mike pence get their way they will turn the clock back and make no mistake bred kavanaugh Will be a rubber stamp for their and this extreme agenda we've seen this playbook before they will stop at nothing to end roe as we know it but you know what they will chip it away they will undermine it they will erode it and they may not say that were opposed but this is what they'll do and they will slowly slowly erode our right to full reproductive health care especially uh abortion care they'll limit access To reproductive health care again and again and again in case after case and it will be women especially low income women and women of color women who can't afford to travel or take a day off from work who will suffer are progress our civil rights our reproductive rights are human rights they are endanger this truly is code Red we've come much too far to turn back now we must demand Justices respect women's right to plan their own families and to their privacy and their right to choose and we must never never never back down on women's fundamental reproductive rights and freedoms now is the time for our voices to be heard we need all of you and I know you're gonna do this uh to bring that Street we need you to call your senators to go to their town halls we need to Our local papers we need to organize during August and yes we need to stay with I'm gonna keep fighting alongside everyone in this room together we can defeat brett kavanaugh is dangerous nomination but it's gonna take all of us to do the hard work and so thank you again so much for being here thank you for your tremendous leadership and now I'd like to introduce and you by congresswoman sheila Jackson Lee a woman from Texas Who is on the judiciary Committee and who has been such a strong supporter of reproductive health care for women throughout her life and congresswoman marcy capture from the great state of Ohio who serves on the appropriations Committee whose voice is sorely needed and who has been so supportive of all of the efforts that we're undertaking on women and on behalf of women's reproductive health thank you again now let me introduce elise hogue who is with and leading on a route she's the President of neighbor out pro choice America and has done This work and uh insuring that constantly we understand the risks that are there in terms of women and women's health and reproductive health care thank you very much for your organizing and your brilliance thank you Thank you leader pelosi for calling us together thank you for congresswoman to get for your great leadership thank you for uh congresswoman Lee I will follow you anytime anywhere um and thanks to everyone who is here and has been here um from the House of representatives this is a National emergency everyone has a role to play I'm not going to repeat anything that the wonderful covers people have said but what I am gonna tell you is that neighbor all and our two million members nationwide have been preparing for this moment for years If you ask our founders next year because we always knew we were gonna have to keep fighting but for us absolutely since the campaign of 20 16 when donald trump set a litmus test on Supreme court justices and that was to end roe criminalize abortion and punish women now it's not lost on us that this is coming from an administration who at the same time is ripping children from the loving arms of their parents there is a level of Play and I have traveled around this country since Justice Kennedy announced his retirement and I can tell you that cruelty is only outpaced by the commitment and the resolve of generations of people in every state I have visited two to make this a moment where we all join together and say no the urgency is real I'm from the state of Texas where we are already feeling the pain and the burden of restrictions Access and difficulty in accessing contraception in Ohio marcy capture state there are already 20 state legislators signed onto a bill that would mandate capital punishment for women who seek abortions this is real this nomination when we say our lives hang in the balance we are not exaggerating this is not hyperbole and donald trump changed the rules of the game which is why it's not enough to hear Justice kavanaugh say things about settled law or precedent we He's just qualified we think that any qualified Justice needs to promise beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will uphold all of the protections and roe and women's equality and access to contraception moving forward in history we are mobilized and we are ready we have poured thousands of calls in the Senate offices we held a town Hall that weekend after Justice Kennedy announced his retirement and 10 over 10000 members attended and have been working daily we will be Town halls we will be visiting senators we will be writing letters to the editor and we will be lifting up the voices of those most affected and I'll tell you who I'm hearing the most from moms and as one myself I know that this is both about honoring our history but I need this court to uphold fundamental freedoms for women in the promise of women's equality as much for my three year old son as for my daughter the Past can be prolonged but it doesn't have to be and one of the things I will tell you as I've traveled around is a lot of the crowds crowds that are fighting this nomination crowds that are Super charging campaigns to shift the balance of power in the state houses in Congress look a lot like this right behind you because this is their future To honor them have to fight like we can win because the only thing that has ever made what we're told is politically impossible possible is the resolve of people fighting for Justice and equality and I am so honored to not just represent nay rall and our two million members but the people's defense in the dozen groups and the 20 million members of that coalition to stand here with this incredible leadership from Congress and Next I would like to honor my friend and my fabulous leader janet caskey ladies wonderful I'd like to acknowledge that we are joined by elliott angle the ranking member on the foreign Affairs Committee in the House of representatives and a pro choice advocate so this is not a drill we have been preparing for this moment all of our organizing an adult an adult lives and I'm so happy to see old time warriors that are that are here that have been doing this since before row okay longtime not old time longtime warriors who have been doing this since before row helped usher in roe v Wade and all of the young people young women and men who are here to To say no to brett kavanaugh so we are a pro choice nation the majority of Americans believe that women have that constitutional right to full reproductive health including abortions roe v Wade was not the beginning of women having abortions it was the end of women dying from abortions and that's why We need to protect that right so you have heard before I would not be surprised that brett kavanaugh didn't compensate oh no I am not for repealing roe v Wade and what will happen instead is that state by state issue by issue that right will be limited to the point that in fact women don't have access to abortion so we have to be very careful about the words and finally I want I think the biggest obstacle that we have right now is our own confidence that we can win because I believe that we can that when we fight we win you're gonna hear the pundits say oh it's a it's a done deal you know one way or another brett kavanaugh is going to be on the Supreme court and affect us for generations to come that is not a given we have done it before there have been nominees for the Supreme court that have been defeated and we must do Now are you ready to fight back when we fight we win when we fight all right thank you Hello I'm congresswoman brenda lawrence from the great state of Michigan representing Detroit and I am so glad to follow this amazing um group of leaders ladies and gentlemen every generation we're giving a torch and it's our job during our lifetime to stand up for our democracy to believe in those things that gives us the compassion and the morality of the United States of America we are in the Of our life so many of you young women you do have to read history so do it eye to look at the women who stood up when when our democracy is being challenged for once the President of the United nine States donald trump has kept his promise he kept his promise by nominating a judge that would attack the affordable health care for American people and undermine the right of women to choose he promise As a President of the United States to nominate a nominee with their agenda against roe versus Wade and against women's freedom he has kept his word brett kavanaugh is exactly the Supreme court nominee that the President of these United States as a result of an election has promised his record speaks for itself Americans health care a woman's freedom civil rights please don't forget our civil rights are under attack voting rights All x state when kavanaugh is put into office now we've used a lot of turns to energize ourselves we have said stay woke we have said lean forward we have said run women run we have fulfilled the running part and we are going to be amazing force in the democracy of this great country after this election I am so proud to say that we've come So far but we are not and I say that in a room full of passion and people who are showing up here today we will not go back we will not turn back to page we will not step on the legacy of those women in those forefathers who stood up when I writes we're under attack we will not stand and do that when we fight we win when we vote we win this is about the heart and soul of this country and if you really really wanna pause for a minute I want you to reflect on who we are as a country and we say it so often but I want you to realize it and know that this is important Country that we say it's one nation one nation under God in divisible with liberty and Justice for all that means me as a woman me with a uterus me as a right to produce like me as a right to make decisions about my reproductive health I'm one nation and I will be respected and I will be heard because we are in this together thank you so much I now want to bring back to the mic and amazing woman a leader a woman who is a mother a woman who have shown this world that we can stand in stilettos and we can still rule the world thank you It's a room full of fighters and we're here to fight for women's right to choose but also for respect for women I thank all of you for joining us I'm particularly honored always meal of feminist majority is with us and some of her um members of the Organization we're also joined by planned parenthood they're all of course the lease all of all above all the American medical Association healthcare professionals alliance for Justice feminist majority as I mentioned uh a National voice and federation human rights campaign people for the American way leadership conference or so And human rights and the list goes on and on thank you all uh I mentioned leadership conference for civil human rights and something that a congressman is going now uh lauren said mention when accountable when I uh nominee is put forth for confirmation the question is does he or she believe in starting the sizes the former decisions of the previous decisions of the court because of that some of the comments of the Justice kavanaugh has made and others uh it is important That everything is at risk roe v Wade a woman's right to choose Brown versus the board of the education civil rights environmental issues gun safety the list goes on and on and uh in particular or want to note that that uh we're focusing today on a woman's right to choose and other health issues because in what will go to the core probably is uh a case that says that no longer will you have the pretty people have that protection that Health is portable care act of preexisting condition not being a barrier to receiving health insurance that is affordable so that benefit is greatly at risk in the courts now and again uh can be uh a victim that benefit can be a victim of this court I'll just say this in closing because our colleagues have said it's so forcefully and with such uh specificity this Justice has said that the President is above the law he has said it would be such an inconvenience for a President to have to respond to any uh accusations that are made against them even in a very responsible way he's also said that investigations can be undermined by outside mobilization which is what exactly what they're doing on the mueller investigation is to mobilize outside to undermine support for that for that investigation so this is dangerous in many ways because the mueller investigation is about our right To vote that people will vote who are eligible to vote can vote and that their vote will be counted as cast it's about the separation of powers uh the balance of the checks system of checks and balances we that the legislative branch article one the legislative branch and he has spoken out in ways that undermine even that but when he made us private speech supporting Justice rehnquist vote against roe v Wade he defined Self in that regard so in any case uh uh where fighters were fighting for a woman's right to choose for the dignity of that women should have the respect that women should have the dignity of that we all deserve and I hope that again we all recognize the important role that outside mobilization plays and winning this fight because I was so much of how so he says when we fight we win you don't win if you don't fight and we have to uh just close by standing in front of this great picture over patriarch of our country Another great President abraham lincoln public sentiment is everything with it you can accomplish almost anything without it almost nothing the public has to know what is at risk thank you all for making uh that's so clear to the public thank you
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