Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
June 24, 2022
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) released the following statement condemning the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark case, Roe v. Wade.
“This is a dark day for our country. Like millions of Americans who awoke to a terrifying new reality today, I am gutted by the Supreme Court’s decision to turn back 50 years of precedent by overturning Roe v. Wade. My heart breaks for mothers and grandmothers who marched and fought to secure this watershed achievement, and for the girls who now face a grim future without access to life-saving health care and fewer fundamental rights. The highest court in the land failed half of the country today,” said Shaheen.
She continued: “Make no mistake: this decision jeopardizes women’s lives. It won’t stop abortions from happening – it will just make them dangerous and potentially deadly. I remember what it was like before Roe. I had friends who sought back-alley abortions. We cannot go back – that’s why I’ve always been committed to building a future that empowers women to control our own bodies and our own futures. Decisions around when and how to start families should belong to us – not extreme politicians or unelected jurists who have no understanding of the circumstances and won’t live with the consequences.
She concluded: “This decision casts women as second class citizens and cannot become the new status quo. We must channel our mourning and outrage into action, demanding new laws in Congress and in state legislatures across the country to preserve this fundamental human right. And we need to raise our voices like never before at the polls this November to elect leaders who actually trust women. Today, we grieve. Tomorrow, we fight.”
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