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Floor Speech
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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, many colleagues want to speak, and I am going to be brief.
The name of Senator Cortez Masto's bill sums up what this is really all about. The Senator has proposed--and she is a former attorney general, a very skilled lawyer--she has proposed legislation, the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act. I just want us to take a second to think about the name of my colleague from Nevada's legislation.
I would submit to the Senate that you know something has gone horribly wrong in America when the Senate is forced to consider a proposal entitled the ``Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act.'' Colleagues, just look at those words, the ``freedom to travel for health care.'' My colleague has introduced a bill that is as basic as it gets--freedom.
The fact is, six Republicans on the Supreme Court have ripped that freedom out by the roots. Now State governments are moving toward criminalizing travel for healthcare. They are even moving towards criminalizing helping--helping--people travel for healthcare. That is unthinkable, in my view, except millions and millions of Americans are, in fact, thinking about it and being terrified every single day.
In my home State of Oregon, we are fortunate to live in a State that protects women's health and women's basic freedoms. My home State is going to be there for people to get the healthcare they need, including an abortion.
But the fight cannot be left up to the States. That is why I am so pleased to stand with my colleague from Nevada, Senator Cortez Masto, and my partner from the Pacific Northwest, Senator Murray, to call for the Senate to pass legislation with the name the ``Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act.'' What my colleague's legislation does is protect women and doctors, and she does it by protecting a constitutional right--the constitutional right to interstate travel.
Colleagues, even 3 weeks after the ruling that overturned Roe, it is shocking and appalling to see what has come next. We see States sprinting towards banning and criminalizing abortion outright. Are you a victim of rape or incest? No exceptions. Are you a child? You will still be forced to birth a child. Is your life in danger if you carry a pregnancy to term? You better get your affairs in order. That is the world millions and millions of American women are living in now that the Republicans on the Supreme Court have ripped away Roe v. Wade. More women's lives are in danger. More American freedoms are disappearing.
The legislation proposed by my colleague from Nevada is as basic as it gets. The Senate needs to act now, and it needs to act without any further delay.
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