For Immediate Release
March 2, 2016
Contact: Keenan Austin
(202) 724-8105
Grosso Calls on Supreme Court to Uphold Women's Reproductive Rights
Washington, D.C.--Today, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, a case that challenges the constitutionality of a Texas law that would effectively close many clinics that provide abortion services in that state. Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) made the following statement in advance of the oral arguments:
"Today I stand with millions of people across the country who want to see the Supreme Court make the right decision and protect access to abortion services. Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt revolves around the question of whether Texas law H.B. 2, and myriad others around the country, places an undue burden on access to abortion services. If allowed to go forward, the Texas law would close the majority of abortion providing clinics in the state, placing significant obstacles between a person seeking to terminate a pregnancy and access to such services.
In D.C., we are lucky to have some of the strongest protections of a woman's right to make decisions about her own body, despite continued interference by Congress. In 2014, the D.C. Council passed my Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act to stop employers from retaliating against employees for their reproductive health decisions, which Congressional Republicans unsuccessfully sought to block. I will continue to fight the Congressional rider that prohibits the D.C. government from spending local tax dollars on abortion services, creating barriers to access for our poorest residents. And I will continue to advance legislation to safeguard reproductive rights, like my bill that ended shackling of pregnant women and girls in D.C. detention facilities.
On a personal level, my wife and I make regular contributions to the D.C. Abortion Fund in an effort to help mitigate the impact of the Congressional rider. Similarly, in response to state laws passed to obstruct women's access to abortion, we also contribute regularly to Fund Texas Choice, a group that funds travel for women who do not live near an abortion provider, after over a dozen closed in Texas due to the new legislation.
No matter the Supreme Court's decision on Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, D.C. will remain a place where women's autonomy over their own reproductive choices will be protected."
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