If you thought Republicans and those on the right were the only politicians on the lookout to deny a woman of her reproductive rights, think again. Some centrist Democrats are joining the side of those in favor of raiding women’s health services.
Led by Republican House Minority Whip and world-class sleaze Steve Scalise, 168 members of the House and 39 senators signed a brief asking the Supreme Court to consider overturning Roe vs. Wade. Two of those signatures came via moderate Democrats in Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.).
The brief was filed ahead of the court’s hearing on June Medical Services v. Gee, concerning a Louisiana law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital—one of numerous “TRAP” (Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers) laws passed in states in recent years.
Discrepancies over what constitutes an “undue burden” on patients seeking abortion care illustrate “the unworkability of the ‘right to abortion’ found in Roe v. Wade … and the need for the Court to again take up the issue of whether Roe and [Planned Parenthood v. Casey] should be reconsidered and, if appropriate, overruled,” the brief reads.
Unsurprisingly the brief supported by a majority of white men in Congress drew the ire of women’s rights activists.
Alexis McGill Johnson the acting president of Planned Parenthood also weighed in on the news.
Meanwhile, progressive Democrat Marie Newman took aim at Dan Lipinski who looking to unseat the Illinois congressman this upcoming election by tweeting the following:
For as much as pro-life advocates want to paint Roe vs. Wade as a black and white issue while trying to paint women in some kind of selfish light, there’s much, much more to the abortion issue than just some binary choice. Much like the gun debate, limiting in any way someone’s right to bear arms opens up a Pandora’s Box of dire possibilities to disarm the working class. Overturning Roe vs. Wade not only tramples on that women’s right to choose but continues to put the United States on the track of a generalized endangerment of women’s health.
