Mr. President, this week is the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Because of the current rightwing Supreme Court's decision almost 2 years ago to dismantle reproductive freedom, women in many parts of the United States today have…
Mr. President, this week is the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Because of the current rightwing Supreme Court's decision almost 2 years ago to dismantle reproductive freedom, women in many parts of the United States today have less control over their bodies than they did 50 years ago--50 years ago.
The Dobbs decision was the crowning achievement of the hard right's decades-long war on a woman's right to choose, but it wasn't the end. They want to go even further. These very same people are now going State by State, trying to pass extreme laws to all but ban abortion access, and it is working. Over half of the women of reproductive age live in States that are hostile to abortion rights, and more than 64,000 women and girls have become pregnant because of rape in States that have implemented abortion bans after Roe was overturned--64,000 women and girls pregnant in States where abortion access is limited or not available at all.
The stories they share about the pain and trauma inflicted by this extremist cruelty will break your heart. A woman in Ohio had 1 day--1 single day--to decide whether or not to keep her child because she was right on the verge of the State's ban at 6 weeks. A Florida woman was forced to carry her baby to term even though doctors found fatal abnormalities in an ultrasound at 23 weeks and knew that it had at most a few hours to live after birth. Another woman, whose baby would have been born without a skull--without a skull--traveled 1,400 miles from Baton Rouge to New York City to get an abortion because local doctors were afraid they would lose their license--they would lose their license--or be thrown in prison for providing abortion services.
Horrific as these stories are, they haven't stopped Republicans from trying to destroy every last bit of bodily autonomy and freedom. Republicans here in Congress are explicit: They are pushing for a national abortion ban. So some of the things you say about what is happening sound like they are partisan talking points, but that is what is happening. They actually do want an abortion ban in Federal statutory law.
The rightwing Supreme Court may well deliver another hammer blow to abortion rights in the coming months if it reverses Federal rules governing access to medication abortion--rules that were shaped in part by a Federal lawsuit where a Hawaii doctor argued correctly that women should be able to access abortion pills, which are safe and effective, when and where they need them. For Hawaii and so many other places around the country that rely on telehealth and medication by mail for access to care, this is vital, but they may not last much longer.
If there is a glimmer of hope in all of this, it is that a majority of Americans reject this extremism on abortion. They see it for what it is: plainly unjust and needlessly cruel--needlessly cruel. They believe in a woman's right to choose, and they support enshrining reproductive rights nationally once and for all.
We live in a democracy, after all, and Senate Democrats will continue to fight until a woman's right to control her own body is the law of the land again.
Supplemental Funding
Mr. President, the war in Gaza, the war in Ukraine, looming threats in the Indo-Pacific--finding bipartisan consensus about what to do on any one of these issues is very, very hard. To do them all together is extraordinarily difficult. But time is running out, and it is essential that we act--No. 1, because we have a very real security interest in each of these areas, and No. 2, because our allies and partners are counting on our help as they encounter the alarming march of fascism around the globe.
It has been almost a month since the last U.S. arms shipment left for Ukraine. Funding for assistance has run out completely. Let me just repeat that. This is not something we are arguing about in terms of the facts on the ground; it is a fact that Ukraine is slowly but surely running out of ammunition.
Ukraine will have to fight for its survival with a weapons supply that is dwindling by the day. Putin, on the other hand, is intensifying his assault with the help of missiles and artillery rounds provided by North Korea and Iran. That is who Ukraine is up against--Russia, North Korea, and Iran--a band of autocrats that have no respect for democracy or even a passing interest in peace.
Beyond its own survival, Ukraine's fight is for the fate of the free world and nothing less. So we don't have time to play partisan politics here as Putin continues to pummel Ukraine day by day. Time is running out, and they desperately need help.
I understand people say what is useful to them as an argument to get their legislation through, so I don't want you to think this is some sort of overstatement. They are literally running out of ammunition. If you ask anybody in a classified session, in a nonclassified session; if you ask any expert--left, right, and center--the determining factor for Ukraine's future and therefore the future of Europe and the future of the free world is, what do we do about the supplemental appropriations bill? They are running out of ammunition, and Putin is banking on a war of attrition that Ukraine will not be able to win.
Meanwhile, the war between Israel and Hamas since Hamas's barbaric attacks on October 7 continues to devastate millions in the region. Hamas still holds 130 hostages captive, including Americans and even a year-old infant.
As the United States made clear in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attacks, Israel has an entirely legitimate right and an obligation to defend itself and to rescue the hostages. It should not be lost on anyone that Israel continues to lose scores of young men and women in battle trying to protect their nation in the wake of this unprecedented terror attack.
But just as the United States has a responsibility to Israel, as its closest ally, to help it defend itself, we also have a responsibility as the leader of the free world to call on Israel to wage this war smartly and justly--to prosecute Hamas, not the Palestinian people. More than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in the last 3 months, most of them women and children. This is in no one's interest strategically or morally.
We also have a responsibility to make sure that humanitarian assistance is allowed to flow to the millions of innocent civilians suffering the horrific conditions under the constant barrage of crossfire.
Even in the face of heightened passions and justifiable anger, we have to make a distinction between people and their governments. These are two peoples suffering agonizing losses, two peoples who want to live their lives just like the rest of us--outside of the constant shadow of violence and bloodshed. They just want to go to school or teach at a school or be a garbage collector or bake bread or eat bread or drink coffee or make coffee or fix roads or drive on a road. Everybody has basic human needs. Everybody has basic human needs. And the idea that we can't see beyond our geopolitical disagreements to understand that this is causing immense suffering for everyone is one of our fundamental challenges.
I talk a lot with the Presiding Officer from New Jersey about this. You know, it is at least partly the internet. It is at least partly the fact that if you say something about the suffering of Palestinians, the first thing out of everyone's mouth in your replies is ``What about October 7?'' If you say ``Hamas is terrible,'' people say ``What about''--the truth is, there really is suffering on both sides, and I am not trying to make equivalent a terrorist attack with a reaction to that terrorist attack. I am not. But, do you know what, that is all written in the wind. Everyone is suffering. Everyone is suffering.
Whenever and however this war ends, there has to be a path to a just and a lasting peace. It has been the longstanding policy of the U.S. Government on a bipartisan basis to support a two-state solution because a two-state solution is the only way to guarantee distinct, inalienable, and mutually recognized homes for both peoples and empower each to chart their own future.
As we consider a major aid package for the region, it is not insignificant to at the same time reaffirm our commitment to that vision. The amendment I plan to file, along with 48 of my colleagues, should a supplemental aid package come to the floor is about making the American position clear.
Inherent to achieving a two-state future is leadership on both sides that is actually interested in peace and both sides feeling secure enough to pursue it. Israel must feel that Hamas and other militant groups have been degraded so they no longer pose a threat to the people of Israel or the country of Israel, and Palestinians must feel that they have a real seat at the table.
There can't be extremists in the Israeli Government who jump at every chance to inflame and incite divisions, and there can't be a Palestinian Authority rank with corruption and nepotism, deteriorating into a kleptocracy. Palestinians want and need a representative and an effective government, and the PA in its current form is falling short.
So, as we press for diplomacy, we also need to be clear that it will take a reformed P.A. that can deliver on the aspirations of the Palestinian people, in addition to a cooperative, forward-looking Israeli Government, in order for these negotiations to work. Changing a longstanding and deeply broken status quo is hard, but it is incumbent on the United States of America, as a global leader, to do everything that we can to foster the conditions for an enduring peace.
I yield the floor.