Congresswoman Bynum Calls Out Republican ‘Foolishness’

Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05) spoke at the House Democratic Caucus’ press conference alongside Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (CA-23), Vice Chair Ted Lieu (CA-12), and Rep. Kelly Morrison (MN-02). On the anniversary of the passage of Roe v. Wade, Rep. Bynum called out Republicans for attacking access to reproductive health care. In part, she said:

“...it’s nonsense that my daughters – I have two of them – that they’ll have less rights than I did at their age. It’s nonsense that they’ve had to decide where to live and go to school based on where they’d have rights. And it is nonsense that my daughters are less safe because of government interference in their health care.”

You can watch her complete remarks here and read the text below:

“Thank you Vice Chair Lieu, Chair Aguilar. 52 years ago, with Roe v. Wade, our country established the fundamental freedom for women to make their own health care decisions, and as a result, more women had access to critical care and better health outcomes. Since then, we’ve seen anti-choice extremists roll that right back and they’ve taken steps to ban access to reproductive care entirely. And it is my belief that this had devastating impacts on women across the country, disproportionately affecting women of color, women with low-incomes, and women in rural communities.

“Now this week, House Republicans are having us vote on a bill that continues to undermine women’s access to health care. For me, that’s unacceptable, and it's frankly not what I was sent here to work on. So I’ll be voting no.

“The evidence is clear: in states with less access to care, maternal mortality is higher, infant deaths are higher, and racial inequities are greater. These restrictions also make it harder for expecting mothers to receive the care they need in pregnancies and complications.

“So that is why I will fight for all women to have access to reproductive care and to be able to make those decisions for themselves. I believe that women shouldn’t have to pay thousands of dollars to travel across state lines, or risk prosecution to access basic health care.

“For me, it’s nonsense that my daughters – I have two of them – that they’ll have less rights than I did at their age. It’s nonsense that they’ve had to decide where to live and go to school based on where they’d have rights. And it is nonsense that my daughters are less safe because of government interference in their health care.

“It’s time that House Republicans put aside this foolishness and start focusing on real issues, like eliminating maternal mortality and increasing rural access to health care. Like lowering costs and creating good jobs. And like working across the aisle to deliver real results for real people. Thank you.”

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