Cohen Defends Women’s Rights from Unconstitutional GOP Abortion Ban Proposal

[WASHINGTON, DC] – At a hearing of the House Rules Committee this evening, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) spoke out against yet another effort from House Republicans to subvert the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision and undermine a woman’s constitutional right to make her own health care choices, H.R. 36. The legislation, which was pulled by Republican leadership earlier this year when it became clear it could not pass as drafted, would ban abortions before the fetus is legally considered “viable” as determined by the Supreme Court and limit the health care choices of rape and incest victims. Video of the Congressman’s remarks is available here.

“After their own party found this bill too extreme earlier this year, Republicans are once again trying to pass their patently unconstitutional so called ‘pain-capable’ abortion ban,” said Congressman Cohen. “This bill isn’t about fetal pain, it’s about trying to subvert the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision protecting a woman’s right to choose. H.R. 36 endangers women’s health, shows utter disregard for the victims of rape and incest, and does not pass constitutional muster. I urge my colleagues to reject this misguided legislation.”

H.R. 36 bans abortions after 20 weeks with no meaningful exception to protect a woman’s health. It would delay and in some cases deny care to women in the most desperate of circumstances, force victims of rape and incest to file a police report regardless of circumstance in order to obtain care, and is a blatant attempt to chip away at a woman’s right to choose. The bill flagrantly runs afoul of the clear constitutional rule on viability. While many factors go into determining viability, and it can vary from case to case, it is generally acknowledged as not occurring until around 24 weeks. The Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade, struck down pre-viability abortion prohibitions. The Supreme Court has continued to uphold this holding in subsequent cases, but H.R. 36 would prohibit the procedure in many pre-viability situations.