Last Friday, the Supreme Court paused an extremist ruling from a district court judge in Texas, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, that could have eliminated access to medication abortion nationwide. But make no mistake — this is a temporary reprieve. Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling is still headed to an appeals court, and possibly the Supreme Court itself. This case makes it clear: Republicans are working toward a backdoor nationwide abortion ban, one that can be forced on Americans in red and blue states alike.
For us, access to abortion care is a deeply personal matter. One of us, Congresswoman Bush, has shared her experience of having an abortion, and the other, Senator Smith, served as an executive at Planned Parenthood in Minnesota. We know firsthand that for those facing this decision, it’s not about politics — it’s about our health and our lives. Everyone should be free to make their own decisions about their health care and their lives, including abortion, without government interference. Period.
Though outrageous, Judge Kacsmaryk’s initial overreach wasn’t surprising. It’s part of a decades-long GOP strategy to enact an anti-abortion agenda through the courts, while avoiding democratic accountability for their deeply unpopular policies. Republicans have stacked the courts with judges guaranteed to side with far-right interests, while protecting themselves from accountability at the polls through gerrymandering and voter suppression.
Republicans are so bent on executing their most extreme ideologies that they are willing to claim powers that aren’t theirs to claim. Despite more than 20 years of overwhelming evidence that mifepristone is safe and effective at terminating pregnancies, Judge Kacsmaryk repeated talking points from anti-abortion extremists in taking the unprecedented step of overruling the nonpartisan scientists at the Food and Drug Administration. Congress has granted FDA with authority over the drug approval process, and the agency can and should use its full enforcement discretion to maintain equitable access to abortion medication. We need to leave health care to scientists and the medical professionals, not judges.
Before the Dobbs decision last summer, Republicans claimed that they only wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade to return the issue to the states. When Roe fell, GOP lawmakers celebrated the ruling as a victory for states’ rights. Others swore up and down that they didn’t want a national abortion ban. That was always a brazen lie, and now Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling makes it undeniable: Extremist Republicans won’t be satisfied until they’ve stripped away one of our most fundamental human rights to bodily autonomy and self-determination.
So what can we do about this? The hard truth is, with Republicans in control of the House and a filibuster in the Senate, there is virtually no way we can pass federal legislation to address this until the next election when Democrats hopefully take back control of Congress. But those of us who recognize abortion rights won’t sit by quietly while anti-abortion extremists try to control people’s bodies, decisions and lives.
We will fight relentlessly — in the courts, in Congress, in state legislatures, in public demonstrations — against their tyranny. The Justice Department is ready to continue this fight in the courts, and President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are prepared to use all of their executive authority to protect abortion access and keep government out of people’s private health care decisions. And we will continue to push for reforming the federal judiciary, including by expanding the Court and enacting a code of ethics for the justices. This is not about one judge or one ruling. The will of the people must prevail over unelected, right-wing political operatives in robes looking for any opportunity to strip away our rights.
Furthermore, we will continue to use our power and platforms to support the young people, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, communities, and organizers working to secure reproductive rights. It is infuriating that we must keep organizing and protesting and voting to protect such a fundamental freedom. But we can take heart that we are not alone — Republican efforts to enact their dangerous and unpopular agenda through our courts are energizing voters. Since the Dobbs decision, voters in Wisconsin, Kansas and Michigan have proven that millions of people — especially young people — across our country will support ballot initiatives, state constitutional amendments and other efforts that guarantee the right to abortion care.
Decisions are made by those who show up. So let’s show up for each other and do everything we can to defend the freedom and autonomy that will always be our unalienable rights.