FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2003

Contact: Josh Freed
(202) 225-4431

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO), Co-chair of the Bi-partisan Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, issued the following statement in commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision:

" We stand here today because, thirty years after the Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to control their own bodies, our freedom and privacy are still under assault. Mislabeled as a debate about "abortion”, this is an attempt by a small minority to control the lives of all Americans. Let me be clear about this, a small number of extreme right wing interest groups now control the national agenda on key decisions about our reproductive rights.

As the co-chair of the Bi-partisan Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, I have seen the Bush Administration remove information about reproductive rights from federal government Web sites, support legislation that curbs a woman's right to choose, and hold federal judicial nominees to an anti-choice litmus test.

The Republican majorities in Congress now join this effort with renewed vigor. They have said they will introduce bills early this session to ban late-term abortions, and allow hospitals and insurance providers to deny abortion services, coverage, and referrals for any reason. Already, a bill has been filed to constitutionally ban all abortions.

These bills are similar to those introduced by anti-choice legislators in the past. And the president's nominees are held to the same anti-choice litmus test as they were last year. The difference is that, this year, for the first time since the Roe decision, anti-choice forces control both houses of Congress and the White House.

Thirty years on, our work is just beginning. Together, the pro-choice members of Congress and Americans across the nation must reaffirm our commitment to protecting women's reproductive rights. Unless we do, I fear that we may lose significant ground in the 108th Congress.”
 
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