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Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. The outcry against Republicans' cruelty has been loud and clear and overwhelming.

In every single State where abortion was on the ballot, voters backed abortion rights. They made their voices clear: Women must be able to control their own bodies. They want us to protect abortion access. They want us to stand up against the wave of extreme bans and bills and partisan attacks on abortions and on doctors from Republicans.

That is exactly what this bill is, another attack on abortion that will make it harder for women to get the care that they need.

If my colleague really wants to talk about protecting healthcare providers, let's talk about the sharp rise in threats and violence against abortion clinics and what we are doing about that. Let's talk about the providers back home in my home State of Washington who tell me they are worried they could be punished for providing an abortion to patients from out of State. In my State, it is legal.

Let's talk about how Republican State lawmakers have already discussed a bill to make it a crime to provide abortion care to a resident even in another State where it is legal.

Yet, if you are one of the many, many doctors and nurses who believe they have a duty to provide abortion care, this bill does nothing to protect you for doing your job, not even if your patient's life is in danger. It is silent on the legal threats that these providers are facing from Republican States, not to mention the increasing physical threats that they face. That violence, that science speaks volumes about the real point of this bill.

By the way, if you are a patient, well, then, the message from this bill is even more clear and even more outrageous. This bill says the ideology of your boss, of your health insurance company, of your pharmacist, or your doctor is more important than your personal decision, your medical needs, or your well-being.

That is dangerous, it is wrong, and I will not stand for it.

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