Pelosi Remarks at Roundtable Discussion on Women’s Reproductive Freedom

Downers Grove, IL – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Congressman Sean Casten for a roundtable discussion on the state of reproductive freedom and women's health care in Illinois and the need to pass legislation protecting the right to choose. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. I feel pretty emotional listening to the evidence that you bring to the table that we do know about, but you can document as to what this means to women. First of all, we thank each and every one of you for what you do and for being here today. I want to acknowledge Isabel, who is here from grade school, taking off today to be part of our proceedings. Thank you, Isabel. It's about the future. It's about our children and the world that they will live in. And it's about the decisions that their families have to make.

Let me thank you all for sending Sean Casten to the Congress of the United States. He has been a respected, strong voice on many subjects in the Congress. And certainly this one. A steadfast voice for reproductive freedom, advancing the fight to defend women's most basic freedoms.

Now, understand what we have – the bills that we have just put Roe v. Wade codification – enshrinement into the law, not one vote from the other side, not one, not one vote from the other side. Then we put on the Floor – and Congressman Casten, very much a part of this – a bill to ensure that women have access to contraception, nine Republican votes. That means 200 voted no. So understand that. And then he's been a champion, again, on the federal right to birth control, as we said, but also the right of women to travel. Imagine that they would vote against women having the right to travel for their reproductive health. So I thank him for that. And for bringing us together, here.

Now, Deborah introduced herself as a grandmother. I introduce myself as a grandmother, but also as a mother of five. Five children in six years and one week.

[Laughter]

So I'm very respectful of people making their own personal decisions. I come from an Italian, Catholic, very Catholic background – very liberal politics, but conservative in some of these other issues. Pro – we think we are pro-life, but whatever they want to call themselves. And so I respect, I respect other people's point of view. And I want them to respect other people's point of view.

I have, for a long time in the Congress – and I say this not to talk about my experience, but just so you know – for decades, I've been trying to say to people, this isn't just about abortion. It's about contraception, it's about birth control. I have had fights with our colleagues over the years, over the years, where they have said to me, ‘Don't you understand? We're not for any family planning, domestic or global.'

So I want you all to Know Your Power in all of this. Because when you talked about – when Jennifer talked about Planned Parenthood – a number of years ago, there was an attempt for them to take the funding out of the bill. Now, there was no funding for Planned Parenthood, but it was funding for the programs that Planned Parenthood avails itself to, but they wanted to exclude them from that, but because of public sentiment, that failed. It wasn't just because the votes – they had the Majority then – but because of public sentiment. So again, Know Your Power in all of this.

So here's the thing. This is a constitutional issue: the rights of privacy, precedent issue of the Court, which they all said they would respect. Right, but they didn't. So it's a constitutional issue. It's a systems issue. We're talking about what it means – anxiety, trauma, we're talking about mental health issues.

And I want to thank President Skogsbergh for what he said, thanking us for the legislation, but also recognizing two things: the mental health aspects of everything we do, but also what it means to the providers. The caregivers, the nurses, the doctors, everyone associated with this and the jeopardy that you've discussed, that it puts them in legally. But really, it comes down to constitution, systems, personal – personal to women and their families.

What right does a judge or a Member of Congress have to come to the kitchen table of America's families and weigh in on size and timing of the family? Or even if there is any interest in going forward?

So we have some real challenges. But the impact on providers, whether it was COVID – and we wanted to be sure we were protecting our providers – whether it is in any aspect of our health care system, to make sure we have the resources needed to honor the work of our – the education piece of it, so important, not just for doctors, but for nurses and other providers. And to come right down to it, come right down to it, it's a disparity issue. We know it, and you said it. It always has been. It always has been. So I want to just acknowledge that our President, in everything that he has done, whether it's infrastructure, whether it's whatever bill he's put out there, it's always about addressing disparities of access. Justice, bringing justice to it.

We know that women of color and women at the lower income level would have a real problem traveling to another state. Acknowledging what – why they're doing it, having the money to do it and the rest. So again, it's a justice, a justice issue. And we owe everyone the respect to make their decisions, to live up to their responsibilities.

As I say, I came from this family, which was very, shall we say, in their own direction. Not activist or anything, but just that's what they believe, good for you. We respect that for you. But don't think that you are making a determination as to how other families are. So they're a little concerned about my activism on this subject. But I said, ‘Well, when you have six – five children in six years and one week, then we can have this discussion.'

[Laughter]

But again, what a blessing for us, my husband and me, what a blessing for us. But I have four daughters, two granddaughters, nine grandchildren, mostly boys. But for them too, we have to do so – it's urgent, it's urgent. Who would have ever thought that the Dobbs decision would come down in such a lethal way for some of them?

And now saying contraception begins – I mean birth – life begins at fertilization. Really? Really? Okay. You live by that. But don't think that other people have to.

So in terms of disparities of access, and justice that has to be brought to that, and we have to do more in terms of, as has been said, this is just the beginning. It's going to be about contraception. They've said that, Griswold. It's going to be about marriage equality. It's going to be about a lot of other things.

So this is an urgent fight that we are in. Again, I want to be respectful of other points of view for the people to live by, but not to make that the law of the land.

So thank you, all of you, for the power of your words, what you're doing. Since we have come to listen – as you said earlier, Oren, you said you came to listen – we came to listen, let's hear more from you. But understand, when you speak, we are listening and we are putting that into the calibration of what is the best way to go forward that would have the outside support. Lincoln said, ‘Public sentiment is everything. With it, you can accomplish almost anything. Without it, practically nothing.'

But for public sentiment to prevail, people have to know, they have to know what is at risk for them personally. And again, what we want to do to make that – those decisions easier for them.

So thank you all so much. On with the show.

***

Q. Madam Speaker, reproductive rights, of course, is a huge issue going into the midterms. In these final weeks, it seems like Republicans have a lot of momentum. What does it tell you about Democratic prospects that there – when you see seats in blue states that seem to be thoroughly in play?

Speaker Pelosi. Well, I'd rather keep the conversation on the subject at hand, if you want to take it to a political place. First, let me thank Good Samaritan Hospital and Advocate Aurora Health, and thank you, Dr. Windsor, for your leadership here. And thank all of our leaders, advocates, and champions on this subject, because I mentioned President Lincoln, being in Illinois – I mention him all over the country, but nonetheless.

[Laughter]

But also Dr. King said, ‘Of all of the inequalities, the inequality relating to health care is the most inhumane, because people can die.' And that's really what we're talking about here as well. So in terms of the election, the Dobbs decision – when it came down, we were ready, because we had a field of candidates and Members of Congress who were committed to a women's right to choose. I hesitate to be talking politics, but that's the question. The – this is the first time we have had a pro-choice Congress. You know, we've had Democratic Majorities, even when we passed the Affordable Care Act, we had – we didn't have a pro-choice Majority, but our Members voted with us on the legislation, even though there were those who were saying it did this, that and the other thing, which it didn't.

But in any event, this is the first time we've had a pro-choice Majority. We don't have it yet – we have a Majority in the Senate, but not to 60 votes in the Senate. So it's really – there's an answer to many of these questions and problems that have been on the table. And that is to win the election, to make sure that we continue to have a pro-choice Congress. We have a pro-choice President. And I just want to add that, in both the Department – I don't know if the Department of Defense has put out there – has that already happened? I don't know, am I leaking something? Putting out –

[Laughter]

– expansion of opportunity and respect for women in the military. And the Veterans Affairs did that a couple of weeks ago. So there is progress being made. But as you all say, much more needs to be done to remove all doubt that a woman has a right to choose. And that those who can provide that care have to be protected, and they're not subject to a prosecution for it.

But make no mistake. The difference between the Democrats and the Republicans on this is they have said they will have a national law to ban abortion. We support women having the freedom to make families, young people to make their own decisions. That is a very big difference in the election. We weren't talking politics before, but you asked. It's a very big – your right to choose is on the ballot, your freedom, the respect for your ability to make – live up to your own responsibilities. And I say that because that comes back to my family where I – they would say, ‘Well, we, you know, you should have the right to choose, but you should all live up to your responsibilities.' Okay. We'll take the second part of that: live up to our responsibilities.

But again, make no mistake: this is deep-seated anti-contraception. ‘Life begins at fertilization.' I've said sometimes I think they think it begins at the dinner the night before.

[Laughter]

But nonetheless. So again, as I say this as a devout practicing Catholic under attack from my own Archbishop and the rest of that – but I'm proud of the communion I received at the Vatican recently and the rest of that. But this is it. Families.

Oren, thank you for dealing – bringing men into this, because it is certainly affects men as well. But it's a personal issue. It's a privacy issue. It's a justice issue. How many times have we heard how this impacts lower income women or women of color or just younger people who just have not been introduced to this? I mean, we've been facing abstinence-only sex educators. But this has been long-term. And why? Why? They're not about birth control. But they're about control of women and their decision making.

[Applause]

So if women vote, women will win and we can address this. And by the way, let me close by saying this, and I'll yield back to our distinguished Member of Congress, whom I'm very grateful you have sent to the Congress. He's the full package.

[Laughter]

We say to him, when you talk about people having access – we were just talking about it, nobody in the Congress knows more about protecting our planet for future generations. And that's a health issue. Asthma, water we drink, water our children drink – I can go into that for a long time about him. He's really the full package on all of these things that relate to the well being of our families.

But the fact that men will take an interest in this. People always say to me, ‘Why do you always have women on the panel?' And I say, ‘Well, men are invited to come to the panel, but we're talking about what we know.'

But make no mistake, this is deep-seated, long-term disrespect for women. And again, it can be deadly. And they try to make the debate about late-term, while at the same time, we're – they're talking about life beginning at fertilization. So it – really? Really?

So again, this is a big electoral issue. And by the way, it's an economic issue. It's a kitchen table issue for families and for young people, for people who are not even in a family but have to make a decision about whether to have a baby or not have a baby. And I say that – I said I was going to close, I will.

[Laughter]

Sooner or later. I always say that, ‘I'm going to close.' The – we want it to be unified. We don't want this debate to continue to have division in our country. Should there be any doubt that women, should women – and as you said, people of color are – Indian Country people and the rest. Why should this be a divisive issue? It should be something that we all agree upon. That people will honor their responsibilities and to make their own decisions, which honors our Constitution's right to privacy, our Supreme Court's record of precedent and, most importantly, the personal needs of women and the providers who care for them.

So thank you all. This has been very valuable in terms of, as the Congressman said, what legislation, what further legislation would be helpful. Thank you so much.

[Applause]

Congressman Casten. So if I could make one final point, I think we're getting the hook here. Because of the timing of the Dobbs decision, it's impossible not to view this through a political lens. But it's important to understand that what the Dobbs decision did was take away the rights from 50 percent of the Americans in this country. And regardless of the timing of an election, if in a democratically elected government, we choose not to protect the majority of the population from the diminution of their rights, we don't deserve to have our jobs.

And the Speaker often quotes Thomas Paine. We've all been inspired to read the collective works of Thomas Paine, sometimes shamed into reading the collective works of Thomas Paine by our colleague Jamie Raskin. And I shame you all in doing the same. But he has this wonderful line in Common Sense, where he's trying to convince people from thirteen disparate colonies that it was worth coming together. And he says, in the course of making his arguments, that ‘Americans' is our great title, and our state is only our local distinction. By – abroad, we are known as Americans, at home we are known by our local distinction.

And if we decide that we want to live in a country where your rights as a woman don't vary based on where you live, they vary based on where you happen to be when you need health care, then we've lost all of the things that inspired us at first to come together as a country. Because it is ‘Americans' that is our great distinction. And that shouldn't be political. It happens that it is at this moment, but it shouldn't be. And I think it's, I think the onus is on all of us to make sure that we look out for the greater good of the greater number. And I thank you all for being here.

Speaker Pelosi. Will you yield for a moment?

Congressman Casten. I will always yield to the Speaker.

[Laughter]

Speaker Pelosi. You mentioned Thomas Paine. And you mentioned Jamie, and Jamie's always quoting him to our inspiration. But Thomas Paine also said, at the time of the Revolution, he said, ‘The times have found us. The times have found us.'

Found them to declare independence, writing the greatest document of the millennium, the Declaration of Independence, fighting a war against the greatest naval power at the time and winning, writing our founding document – thank God they made it amendable, so we will always be expanding freedom in our country. Back to Lincoln, times found him to save the unity of the union of our country, to save the United States of America. And he did.

We think the times have found us, each and every one of us here, to honor that vision of respect for individuals. And to show that that Court, with that decision, for the first time, restricted freedom. It's always been expanding. Restricted freedom. So the times have found us. Not to put ourselves in a category of greatness of Lincoln and our Founders, but to understand the urgency of what that means to freedom in our country. So again, this election is very important in terms of our democracy, and what that means in terms of individual freedoms is on the ballot. So Know Your Power. The times have found you.

Thank you for what you do on this subject at hand. But understand that it is at risk in this election. I yield back.

Oren Jacobson. I want to just expand something that Sean said, and others. There are some men in this room in particular, so to speak with you very quickly. Our bodies, my body is not directly under attack. But make no mistake that our rights are under attack too. I said, we need to not just be allies, but be stakeholders in this fight.

Some of you may have seen the story this week out of Texas about a woman named Amanda and her husband named Josh. You all have talked about – I wrote this quote down, ‘They didn't teach you when sick enough is sick enough.' And Amanda almost died. What is underlying, I think, a lot of the comments from the health care professionals here is that these laws, these bans, are going to cost people their lives. And what Josh learned firsthand was he almost lost his wife, because doctors wouldn't perform a necessary abortion. Not an abortion that they wanted, but a necessary abortion. And Amanda almost died. And I promise you that Josh now fully understands why this is his fight, too. There's no such thing as freedom for a person who doesn't have the right to control their own body. And while the government is not attacking my body, if the government has the right to control my wife's body, the government has the right to control how and when we build our families.

This is our issue too. Our rights are under attack too. We shouldn't be the center of this story, but we cannot remove ourselves from this story as well. All of our freedoms, our freedom to build our family the way that we believe is best is under attack. And in the context of a healthy relationship, the decision of whether and if to have a child, that's a decision that parents make together. We should never have any more than 49 percent of the vote in that decision. We're not the majority. This isn't a democracy. But it's a decision we make together. It's a decision we make together. And if the government controls your life, the government has the power to control the most important, consequential decision that the two of you will ever make together. And that decision belongs between a woman, between a person to get pregnant and the people that they choose to involve, which in the context of our families is almost always their husband, if they are married, or in a relationship with a partner. And so I just want to say that, because I think it's really important that we expand the discussion about the rights and the rights that are under attack. Because all men need to be stakeholders, not just passive allies and not even active allies in this fight. So, excuse my interruption.

Speaker Pelosi. No, it's not an interruption.

But let me just say that what you're talking about, remember, it's not just about terminating a pregnancy. It's use of contraception. Contraception, so it's even more private. I mean, it even applies to many more decisions that you and your wife would make. But thank you for your beautiful statement.