Washington, DC - Joined by her California colleagues Senator Barbara Boxer, and Reps. Lois Capps, Barbara Lee and Hilda Solis, along with national leaders of the women’s rights movement, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) blasted Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision, regarding late-term procedures, today, during a press conference on the Freedom of Choice Act.  Her remarks are below:

“Thank you all for being here today.  I also want to thank my colleague, Congressman Nadler, for organizing this event, and for his leadership on this issue.

“We are here this morning to support much more than a single piece of legislation.  The Freedom of Choice Act is an important bill, one that deserves a vote, and one that deserves to be passed.  However, we are here this morning not just to advocate, but to stand up and fight for the very freedoms that this bill seeks to protect, freedoms that are now threatened by yesterday’s partisan, misguided and outrageous decision by a Supreme Court that seems to be guided by political ideology rather than concern for upholding the rule of law.

“The Court’s ruling yesterday is a frightening and dangerous step towards criminalizing the very constitutional freedoms that previous courts have upheld for generations.  This ban provides no exceptions when a woman’s life, and health is in jeopardy, and flies in the face of medical science.

“Furthermore, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the sole woman on the bench, noted in the dissent, yesterday’s decision violates the separation of our legislative and judicial branches by accepting the Congress’ intervention into legal matters, setting an unacceptable precedent upon which the freedoms ensuring our democracy are now threatened.

“There’s no question that this is an emotional issue for many, but what is clear is that a ban that provides no health exceptions, even when recommended by a woman’s doctor, not only flies in the face of medical science, but will force women, particularly poor women, into making unsafe and unsure choices by criminalizing this medical procedure.  I will not stand for this, my colleagues will not stand for this, and the American people will not stand for this.”