Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
Cantwell Warns of “Political Earthquake” and “Brain Drain” from Federal Agencies in States that Ban Abortion
Cantwell: “Do you think people are going to want to go and work in NASA in Florida or Texas if that state precludes a woman’s right to choose?”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), joined Senate Democrats in announcing next week’s Senate vote on legislation that would federally codify Roe v. Wade. At the press conference, Cantwell emphasized the fact that the end of Roe would cause an economic disaster as millions of Americans would be faced with a potentially life or death decision – whether to leave their jobs and move to a state where the right to abortion and reproductive freedoms are still protected.
“We know that as employers…anybody who you wanted to attract to come work for you wanted to know what your health plan was, and their spouse wanted to know what your health plan was. They wanted to know whether you covered IVF or now we’re going to say that those are the kinds of things that aren’t going to get covered in the future.
“What are we going to do as employers here in the United States Senate? What are we going to do about federal agencies? Do you think people are going to want to go and work in NASA in Florida or Texas if that state precludes a woman’s right to choose?
“Are we going to have extra money in the budget so people can travel to a state so they can get their health care rights? Or are we going to have a brain drain because people aren’t going to want to work for federal agencies located in a state that doesn’t protect a woman’s right to choose? This is ludicrous.”
Earlier this week, Cantwell spoke on the steps of the Senate, saying democrats, “are going to fight,” to protect reproductive health care rights.
In response to the news of the leaked SCOTUS majority opinion, Senator Cantwell released a statement linked HERE.
In December 2021, Senator Cantwell spoke on the Senate floor in response to the U.S. Supreme Court starting oral arguments on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which could roll back decades of precedent upholding the right to reproductive health care.
In September, Cantwell joined 47 Democrats in the Senate and 188 in the House in filing a bicameral amicus brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, urging the Supreme Court to uphold the nearly 50 years of precedent in Roe v. Wade and protect the constitutional right to abortion care.
Senator Cantwell is a cosponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) that was introduced in June 2021. WHPA guarantees a pregnant person’s right to access an abortion—and the right of an abortion provider to deliver these abortion services—free from medically unnecessary restrictions that interfere with a patient’s individual choice or the provider-patient relationship.
A video of Senator Cantwell’s remarks from today’s press conference is available HERE, audio HERE, and a full transcript HERE.
Video of Senator Cantwell’s earlier remarks given on the Senate steps is available HERE, audio HERE, and a full transcript HERE.
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