WASHINGTON, D.C.-Jan. 22 marks 51-years since the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and the issue of abortion remains a culturally and politically charged topic. Politicians and legislators across the country made statements on Jan. 22 commemorating the anniversary of the initial ruling.
NonStop Local will continue to update this article with statements from local and regional legislators and politicians from both sides of the aisle as we receive them or become aware of them.
President Joe Biden issued a statement, which read in part: “Fifty-one years ago today, the Supreme Court recognized a woman’s constitutional right to make deeply personal decisions with her doctor—free from the interference of politicians.”
“We stand with the vast majority of Americans who support a woman’s right to choose, and continue to call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe in federal law once and for all.”
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), released a statement reading in part: “What we have seen since Roe v. Wade was overturned that gives me hope—is that everywhere abortion rights has been on the ballot, abortion rights have won. We know that women will not be quiet in the face of their fundamental freedoms being stripped away, and they will not be ignored. I’m going to keep fighting with everything I’ve got alongside women across America to restore Roe and the right to abortion nationwide, and make sure it is women who have the power to make these personal decisions about their lives—not politicians.”
Ahead of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released a snapshot on the status of abortion and abortion providers in the Northwest that read, in part: “What we see in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning abortion rights is a persistent and growing strain on our state’s reproductive health care system. Out-of-state patients see Washington state as a haven, but our hardworking reproductive care providers are facing a heavier workload and escalating harassment. The Washington-Idaho border is the epicenter of this problem.”
