In the News
Texas Rep. Fletcher calls on Senate to codify abortion rights as hundreds rally outside Houston City HallNearly 200 people rallied in downtown Houston less than 24 hours after reports that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade.
Washington,
May 4, 2022
Tags:
Women's Health
As nearly 200 people marched for abortion rights in downtown Houston on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston)—who is part of the House Pro Choice Caucus—urged senators to pass a bill codifying the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that secured abortion rights. "What the Senate needs to see is that they're representatives of the people, and the majority of people support abortion rights for people across this country," Fletcher said in an interview Tuesday as the crowd chanted in Tranquility Park. "I hope very much the Senate will take what we're seeing in response to this draft and understand the importance of passing [legislation]." The demonstrations and pleas for the Senate to act came fewer than 24 hours after Politico published a leaked draft decision, later confirmed as authentic by Chief Justice John Roberts, that indicated the high court plans to overturn the Roe decision. If the vote holds in the final opinion from the court, pregnant people in Texas and dozens of other states across the country will almost immediately have fewer options to access abortion care. Fletcher attended one of two planned demonstrations Tuesday evening downtown, the first from the Houston Women's March On group. Across the street at City Hall, the Houston chapter of Democratic Socialists of America and Houston's Socialist Alternative party held another rally—this one calling out both Republicans and Democrats alike for the lack of legislation protecting abortion rights at the federal level. Fletcher did not appear to attend the Socialist rally. "They're partially responsible for the situation we're in," said Brian Harrison of Socialist Alternative to a crowd of about 200 people, referring to Democrats. "We've been defensive. [It's] because we've been fighting in courtrooms and not in the streets and in our workplaces. Organizations like the Democratic Party, they're partially responsible for why we're here." Passing the bill in the Senate will be challenging in part because Democrats would have to change the body's filibuster rules, according to Christina Wilkie of CNBC. To do that, they'll need 50 senators to agree. The Senate currently has 48 Democrats and two independents, who routinely caucus with Democrats. The rest are Republicans. In the event of a tie, Vice President Kamala Harris would break the vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to hold a vote on the bill. Two Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema, have since said they wouldn't support a change in the filibuster rules. Manchin had also previously voted against codifying Roe. "What I'm proposing is a different approach, an approach that won the right to choose back in the '70s, a militant approach of the feminist movement," Harrison said outside City Hall. "We have to return to mass protest, like the Women's Strike for Equality in 1970." For Fletcher, the moment represents a longstanding burden placed on women that they continue to shoulder. "It was Texas women who challenged the unconstitutional law banning abortion in Texas back in the '60s and early '70s that led us to the decision in Roe v. Wade," she said. "Texas women have been standing up for our freedoms, for reproductive healthcare and reproductive justice for years and years." Democratic governor hopeful Beto O'Rourke will hold another rally supporting abortion rights Saturday at Discovery Green in downtown Houston. Read on Chron.com. |