00:00Madam President. Majority Leader. Now next Monday, America will mark a dark
00:07anniversary. Two years since the MAGA Supreme Court overturned Roe, unleashing
00:14a crisis of reproductive health. The day Roe was overturned will be remembered as
00:20one of the darkest days for women's rights in modern history.
00:24Two years later, America looks almost unrecognizable when it comes to
00:30reproductive rights. Millions and millions of women across America have
00:34fewer freedoms today than their mothers and grandmothers did. At least 20 states
00:39have passed total or near total bans on reproductive freedom. Shameful. This week,
00:45I moved to place the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act on the legislative
00:50calendar so we can be ready to move this bill soon. I thank Senator Murray
00:55for leading this bill and every woman senator on our side of the aisle for
00:58co-sponsoring it with me. Protecting freedom of choice is
01:05not a show vote. It's a show us who you are vote. And the American people
01:10certainly want to know who their elected representatives truly are and are
01:15entitled to know where they stand on choice. That's why all month long we have
01:21prepared votes on choice and contraceptive and IVF. Americans want to
01:26know where their representatives stand on such an important issue. Americans
01:31didn't elect us to sweep these issues under the rug, even if some senators
01:36think they're difficult. By voting on these bills on women's health care, we
01:40are moving the issue forward because it's important for members to be forced
01:44to take a position. That's the only way we'll make progress. Of course some would
01:49want to sweep it under the rug. They say it's political. That's because they don't
01:52want to vote on it. They don't want to show their constituents that they are
01:55blocking something that the majority of their constituents demand. We all know
02:01these issues are very, very personal to so many people. We all know that the
02:07other side is trying to hide. We are not letting them hide. And we are not letting
02:12them hide because that is the only way we will move this issue forward. By being
02:18public, by showing where people stand, and then by having, as our system has been
02:24designed to work since it was founded, their constituents putting pressure on
02:30them to do the right thing. As I've made abundantly clear over the past couple of
02:35years, Democrats are always ready to work with the other side on legislation. But
02:41when we can't agree, Democrats aren't going to shy away from issues Americans
02:46fiercely care about. And protecting reproductive freedoms is among the
02:52most important issues in the minds of the American people. So once again, let me
02:57repeat, voting on reproductive freedom is a show us who you are vote. And all month
03:03long, Senate Republicans have shown everyone just how out of touch they have
03:08become with the mainstream. Hopefully, votes like this force them to change
03:13over a period of time. In the last two weeks, Senate Republicans have shown that
03:19for all their attempts to sound moderate on reproductive care, when it comes time
03:23to vote, they choose MAGA extremism over the wishes and desires of the American
03:28people. When Senate Republicans block federal protections for contraceptives,
03:33they chose MAGA extremism over the American people. When Senate Republicans
03:38block federal protections for IVF, they chose MAGA extremism over the American
03:43people. When Donald Trump continues to this day to brag about working with
03:48Senate Republicans to confirm three hard-right Supreme Court justices to
03:52eliminate Roe, he is choosing MAGA extremism over the American people. Make
03:58no mistake, the MAGA hard-right attack on women are not done. First it was
04:03abortion, then contraception, then IVF. What's next? If they get their chance,
04:08they will push for their ultimate goal of a national abortion ban. That is why
04:14voting on legislation protecting access to contraception and IVF is so important.
04:20That's why affirming a woman's fundamental right to choose is so
04:23important. And that's why Senate Democrats will continue to fight back
04:28against Republican attacks on reproductive care and never stop until
04:34the protections of Roe are the law of the land.
