A group of Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are planning to examine state abortion restrictions and will hear testimonies from Democratic Members of Congress who’ve had abortions, NBC News reported.
The hearing, which is set for Sept. 30, will center around the recent abortion restrictions implemented at the state level. Three Members of Congress who are reportedly sharing their abortion experiences are Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).
"When I was elected Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, I vowed to use my gavel to protect civil rights and civil liberties, including the constitutional right to abortion," Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) said to NBC News. "The first hearing I held as Chairwoman was to examine abortion restrictions in Missouri, and I am devastated that almost two years later, we are holding a hearing on even more draconian and dangerous restrictions taking hold across the country."
This month, Texas’ S.B. 8 law took effect, banning abortion statewide after fetal heartbeat detection. Days ago, another Texas law went into effect restricting telemedicine abortions. Yesterday, a Florida lawmaker drafted a bill similar to Texas’ S.B. 8 to restrict abortion statewide. Other states, such as South Dakota, have recently implemented restrictions on telemedicine abortions. And this year, both South Carolina and Montana have implemented various restrictions on abortion.
Additionally, an abortion-centric Supreme Court case is on the horizon. Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, will be heard on Dec. 1. Dobbs calls into question the constitutionality of a proposed 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi. The outcome of Dobbs could alter the future of the precedents set by both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
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