Representative Adriano Espaillat Statement in Response to Reversal of Roe v. Wade. NEW YORK, NY – Today, in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s decision this morning to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) released the following statement:
“The Supreme Court’s decision to abolish the reproductive rights recognized in Roe and Casey relegates women and others to second class status, delegitimizes the Supreme Court, and erodes our nation’s commitment to the rule of law,” said Rep. Espaillat.
“Millions of women in America today lost a fundamental constitutional protection – and the freedom of choice. As Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan stated in their dissenting opinion, the legitimacy of the Court is earned over time and ‘it can be destroyed much more quickly.’
“On this day, women across this nation woke up with less reproductive rights than the generation of women before them,” Espaillat continued. “This decision will disproportionately harm women of color, women living in poverty, and undocumented women who will be unable to travel. Banning freedom of choice does not prevent individuals from seeking out and receiving abortions and potentially putting their health at risk and lives in danger as studies indicate that pregnancy-related deaths will increase by 21 percent by restricting reproductive rights. "We are supposed to preserve and protect the people of our country as a matter of justice – and the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has done the exact opposite. It is unconscionable that on the same week that the Supreme Court overturned New York’s century-long gun law regulating who can carry a concealed handgun, the Supreme Court permits states to regulate a person’s bodily autonomy. It is unimaginable that in our nation as strong as ours, this has been allowed to happen.
“While I am grateful to represent the 13th congressional district of New York where reproductive rights are protected, we must not forget about the millions of people who live in states that will criminalize a person's right to choose and seek to control their bodies. This day will forever be remembered as a day when the Supreme Court obliterated decades of progress for equality and reproductive justice. It is clear that there are some that do not regard our rights and liberties as immutable. These protections require our ardent attention and protection. I remain committed to correcting this wrong, adding Justices to the Supreme Court, and ensuring the fight for reproductive justice continues.”
Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities. He is also a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/. | 
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