He said that a new generation of women will see their rights diminished.
When it comes to abortion protections, “the fall will be quick” if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Sunday, adding that the Senate will do everything it can to codify a woman’s right to choose.
“With this leaked opinion, the court seeks to reverse 50 years of women’s rights,” Klobuchar, D-Minn., told ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
“I think the question voters will be asking when 75% of the people are with us on this is who should make this decision,” Klobuchar said. “Should it be a woman and her doctor or a politician? Should it be Ted Cruz making this decision or a woman and her family? Where is the equal rights of women?”
On Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts upheld a leaked draft opinion of a Supreme Court ruling indicating that five conservative justices, three of whom were appointed by former President Trump, are poised to overturn Roe v. . Wade.
The bombshell that the high court might soon overturn the landmark 1973 ruling sparked nationwide outrage among people, including elected leaders, who support abortion rights.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the Senate would hold a vote Wednesday to codify federal abortion protections through the Women’s Health Protection Act, but not enough votes are expected to the measure is approved. To overcome a filibuster, the bill, which passed the House but stalled in the Senate, needs the support of 60 senators.
“If we don’t succeed, we go to the polls,” Klobuchar said of the bill. “We march directly to the polls, and the women of this country and the men who support them will vote like never before.”
All House Democrats except Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, voted in favor of the Women’s Health Protection Act.
Raddatz pressed Klobuchar on whether the Democratic Party should only endorse members and candidates who support abortion rights.
“Do you think there should be a litmus test?” Raddatz asked. “The Democrats have several candidates who do not support abortion rights.”
“There are people who are personally, personally pro-life, but who believe that decision should be a woman’s personal choice, even if they don’t agree with them,” Klobuchar responded. “So I think it’s important to note that we have people in our party voting to uphold Roe v. Wade who may have personal opinions that are different.”
The Minnesota senator added that the Democratic Party is “clearly pro-choice.”
“That’s the position of our party and I think you see primary after primary, that’s important to our voters, certainly now more than ever,” he said.
While she said abortion won’t be the “only issue” for Democrats in the midterm elections, noting that voters are also focused on the economy and Ukraine, she said “a new generation of women” is seeing how rights are withdrawn and said, “Wait a minute, my mom and grandma are going to have more rights than I am going to have in the future?”
Raddatz pressed Klobuchar on public polls showing that while most Americans support abortion rights in most cases, within states that would almost immediately ban abortion if Roe is struck down, most adults believe that abortion should be illegal in most or all. cases, a New York Times analysis found.
“Why should a woman in Texas have different rights and a different future and a different ability to make decisions about her body and her reproductive choices than a woman in Minnesota?” Klobuchar responded. “How can that be in this country, that we would have a mosaic of laws?”
Klobuchar added that a reversal of Roe v. Wade would disproportionately affect poor women and women of color.
“This is just wrong, and that’s part of why Justice [Harry] Blackmun, who is a Republican-appointed judge, no less, made that thoughtful decision, looked at the Constitution and said that the right to privacy includes the right of women to make a decision like this.”
Reference-abcnews.go.com