FIGHTING FOR WOMEN'S FREEDOMS

On 2026-06-30, Representative Christian D. Menefee (D-TX-18) delivered a floor speech titled "FIGHTING FOR WOMEN'S FREEDOMS" in the House.

FIGHTING FOR WOMEN'S FREEDOMS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 109 (Tuesday, June 30, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 30, 2026)] [House] [Pages H4347-H4348] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] FIGHTING FOR WOMEN'S FREEDOMS (Mr. MENEFEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. MENEFEE. Mr. Speaker, last week marked 4 years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade [[Page H4348]] and ripped away the constitutional right women had relied on for nearly 50 years. In Texas, Republican politicians rushed to impose some of the most extreme abortion bans in the entire country. They promised that these laws would protect life. They told us that there would be no consequences. However, now the consequences are here, and it is women who are paying for them with their lives. Since Dobbs and Texas' total abortion ban, infant deaths in Texas jumped from 1,985 to 2,240 in a single year. That is a 255-death increase. It should pain each of us that here in this country, a woman can walk into a hospital with a medical emergency, and doctors will have to stop and ask whether politicians will put them in prison if they save her life. If those pushing these abortion bans truly cared about life, they would be fighting for affordable childcare, paid family leave, and better maternal healthcare. On this anniversary, I hope that we all stay committed to fighting so that every single woman in this country can get their freedom and their right to an abortion back in this country. ____________________