(Westfield, NJ) Representative Tom Malinowski called into the Abortion Rights Rally at Mindowaskin Park in Westfield, New Jersey over the weekend. Read his remarks in support of a woman’s Constitutional right to a safe, legal abortion below.
“Thank you for coming out and standing up today for a woman’s right to choose. A lot of us and a lot of you have been raising your voices about this issue for many years. But let’s be honest, I think a lot of our fellow Americans who agree with us for many years took for granted that Roe V. Wade was always going to be the law of the land. They didn’t really believe that this was not settled law. And today, we need to raise our voices even higher because it is more clear than ever that this issue is not settled in America.
We saw what happened in Texas. You guys have been talking about it. The state of Texas has effectively nullified, or tried to nullify Roe V. Wade using an absolutely outrageous and atrocious tactic of deputizing any person in America to sue abortion providers, Uber drivers, anybody who helps a woman in that state get an abortion. It’s an end run around the Constitution and a threat to reproductive freedom.
I heard Marci say that you need to get to know your elected officials; that you have a right to know where they stand, and she is absolutely right. So let me tell you where I stand on this issue: I support Roe V. Wade. I support a woman’s right to choose. I believe firmly that the government should not be able to dictate to a woman when or if she will start a family. I believe that a woman’s Constitutional right to a safe, legal abortion should not depend on her zip code. It should not depend on the size of her bank account. It should not depend on which state in the country she lives in.
And I’m prepared to do something about it. Already in the House of Representatives, as you’ve heard, we’ve passed the Woman’s Health Protection Act, which basically takes Roe V. Wade and codifies it in law, which we’ve never done before in the United States. It codifies a statutory right for health care providers to provide abortion care and it would apply to every state in this country.
Because I’m so disturbed about the Texas law and this bounty system that it sets up – and by the way, every American should be concerned about this bounty system even if they don’t agree with us on the issue of Roe V. Wade, I am preparing legislation to impose a 100% federal tax on any bounty that’s collected under this law. And we would use that money. We would enable the administration to use that money to help the people who are being sued. So, they try to nullify Roe V. Wade? We’re going to try to nullify their law because we’re not going to stand for this.
And the final thing I’ll say because I think we’ve got to be very blunt about the road ahead, is that we’re going to do everything we can in this Congress to stop this stuff. But this is also going to be an issue in the 2022 elections. Make no mistake. My opponent in that election lives just a few blocks away from where you guys are rallying. I don’t think he’s got a lot to do today because I don’t see him doing very much on anything, but there is no way that he would be there with you. There is no way he would be standing with you because for the last 20 years, he has been voting to defund Planned Parenthood.
So you guys are going to have a choice in 2022. America is going to have a choice in 2022. This issue is going to be on the ballot like it’s never been on the ballot before because everyone in America can see that those judges that Trump appointed to the Supreme Court are now prepared to not enforce Roe V. Wade and potentially overturn it.
And so this is going to be settled the way things should be settled in the United States, democratically with people coming out and organizing and marching and speaking out and ultimately voting next November to ensure that Roe V. Wade – which we all thought and assumed was settled law – will become part of the codified law of the land in this country. We’re not going to depend on the Supreme Court. We’re going to depend on ourselves and our elected representatives.
Thank you so very much. I’m proud to stand with you. I will always stand with you on this.”