Transcript of Pelosi Remarks at Press Event on Right to Contraception Act

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Democratic women Members and advocates for reproductive freedom for a press event ahead of tomorrow's House passage of H.R. 8373, the Right to Contraception Act. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Good afternoon, everyone. We're in the middle of votes. And they involve the Appropriations Committee, so we're honored that the Chair is here. And she has led this fight, within the Appropriations and outside of it for many years. Thank you, Rosa, for joining us.

As you all know, three weeks ago, a radical, Republican-stacked Supreme Court erased precedent and privacy by overthrowing Roe v. Wade. This paves the way to what Mitch McConnell and Republicans in Congress want to do, what they have said they will do: to ban abortion nationwide. Nationwide ban. In doing so, they put even more of our cherished freedoms on the chopping block, including the right to contraception.

Now, those of us who've been in Congress a while can tell you that they have been against contraception, family planning, birth control the entire time. They use the word ‘abortion' to be sort of a dividing term. Like – we have not been able to get them to support family planning, contraception, birth control. This is their moment. Clarence Thomas has made that clear. They're right down to the fundamentals of privacy, that they want to erase.

And do it – again, don't take it from me. As I said, Clarence Thomas: ‘In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents … including Griswold. We have a duty to correct the error established in those precedents.'

It is clear that their attempts to roll back the clock on contraception is, again, another plank of the extreme agenda. Their extreme agenda for America's women. In Idaho and Louisiana, Republicans are putting this plan in action: removing – moving to ban or criminalize birth control. Criminalize birth control. Do you wonder if they even know what's going on in their own homes?

[Laughter]

So today, let us salute Congresswomen Kathy Manning, Sara Jacobs, Angie Craig, Lauren Underwood – who are with us – for their leadership. And many other cosponsors of this legislation. Some couldn't be with us because of COVID. So there we are.

With this passage, Democrats will make clear: we will never quit in the fight against the outrageous right wing assault on freedom.

It is outrageous – we keep using that word – 60 years after Griswold was decided, 60 years after Griswold, women must again fight for our basic right to birth control against an extremist Republican Party. Let us be clear: we are not going back. For our daughters or granddaughters, we are not going back.

[Applause]

While our – internal maneuvering is critical, and we work at it constantly. The outside mobilization will make the difference, because public sentiment is everything. As Lincoln said, but for public sentiment to prevail, people have to know. And we want to be sure that people know what this means in the lives of America's families, or not even families, just in terms of American women and their decisions.

Indeed, we must ensure that [the] American people Remember in November the truth. While the Republicans seek to punish and control our most personal decisions – what could be more personal than that? And this is a kitchen table issue. This has an impact on the finances of a family, in addition to the health of a family, in addition to the freedom of families.

So again, I thank all of the groups who are with us today for what – for being here, more importantly, for what you are doing and the outside mobilization that people know. And to help people know, we're going to put a bill on the Floor championed by Congresswoman Kathy Manning, the lead author – Kathy Manning.

[Applause]

***

I thank Representative Kathy Manning for her leadership in introducing this legislation. As some of our colleagues have said, we want to put the Republicans on record – but we'd like to put them on record in support of contraception. We want this legislation to pass in a bipartisan way. But if not, the American – we will Remember in November.

Secondly, I want to thank Congresswoman Jacobs for her leadership on this but also on protecting women's data as relates to their personal, shall we say, cycles.

[Laughter]

And thank you for your courage to being so thorough in your discussion of the matter. And as Angie Craig has said, this is outrageous. It really is outrageous. And it's going to have a terrible impact on communities of color as well as women across – working families across the board.

The hypocrisy of it all – but I'm told not to talk about their hypocrisy. As they – if 96 percent of Americans are practicing birth control using contraceptives, who are these people who are saying they want to outlaw it? It's about control. They don't like birth control, but they want to control women. And we cannot let that happen.

And I thank Congresswoman Underwood, a health care professional herself, for the strength that she brings to this debate. It is, it is – for me, it is a good day in this respect. For decades, I have fought them – they wouldn't even support the rhythm system when we tried to make adjustments. They wouldn't even support that. They insist on gag rules in terms of conversations about this. Over the years, Republican women would say to me, ‘If I really thought that the Republicans were against contraception, I could never vote for them' – but they wouldn't believe that that's where they were. Well, now they know. Well, now they know. And they'll know better as soon as we take this important vote.

As many of you know, and some of you were with us, we were on the steps of the Capitol at the end of last week talking about the overturning – addressing the ridiculous Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and to talk about the right to travel. Today, our Women's Caucus is here – we have votes, and so people are in and out, but the House Democratic women have led the way in this fight over the years. And I commend them all for their determination to make – eliminate, just remove all doubt that women are in control of their lives.

[Applause]

So with that, we just go to our mantra: ‘We ain't going back.' We ain't – we are not – I guess I should correct my language.

[Laughter]

We're not going back. Is that right? We're not going back. Thank you all very much.