There is an attempt in Congress to undo the damage done by a rightwing-trending Supreme Court (and the lower courts ain’t too pretty either) intent on eviscerating a woman’s right to privacy and control of her own body.  

The Freedom of Choice Act was reintroduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer and Representative Jerrold Nadler just one day after the Supreme Court’s paternalistic and frightening decision to uphold an abortion-procedure ban (intact dilation and extraction–all too often referred to by the media as “partial birth abortion,” a phrase coined by the right decades ago) that makes no exception to protect the health of the mother.  The new legislation “would codify in federal law the rights established in Roe v. Wade,” Allison Stevens of Women’s eNews reports.

The bill’s chances for passage are gloomy. But since the courts can no longer be relied upon to protect a woman’s right to choose, new strategies are needed.  And what’s critical is that Democrats stand strong–not only in championing legislation that will help prevent pregnancies (and here), promote affordable childcare, and provide real family values funding–but also support the right of a woman to control her own body and health choices.

As Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America said, “For the first time, the court told women that, when their health is at risk during pregnancy, deciding what to do is no longer up to them and their doctors, it is instead up to politicians.  The future of legal access to abortion in this country is grim.  It’s time for Congress to stand up for women’s health, women’s safety, and a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions.”