Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) joined her Democratic colleagues in voting against and strongly condemning Republican attempts to penalize women who seek abortions and to criminalize physicians who provide them. She voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which puts new criminal penalties and reporting requirements on health care providers who fail to provide specific standards of care to a child born alive after an attempted abortion, an exceedingly rare incident. Infanticide in any form is already illegal, and doctors are already required to provide appropriate medical care. This bill’s purpose is to intimidate doctors seeking to help women exercise their right to choose.
Additionally, Congresswoman Ross voted against a resolution that singles out acts of violence to further an anti-choice political agenda, while failing to protect healthcare facilities. Neither piece of legislation went through a single House Committee before coming to the floor for a vote by the full body.
“In their first days in the majority, House Republicans are already fast-tracking an extreme agenda that is at odds with the needs of women and the will of the American people,” said Congresswoman Ross. “An overwhelming majority of Americans support a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body. These latest pieces of anti-choice legislation are nothing but political stunts. I stand united with my Democratic colleagues in fighting for women’s reproductive freedom and opposing these dangerous proposals.”
In the 117th Congress, Congresswoman Ross was a leader in the fight to safeguard women’s access to abortions following the Dobbs decision. She voted to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act twice, which would enshrine the right to an abortion into federal law. This legislation was blocked by Republicans in the Senate.