Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Devastating Impact Of MAGA Republican Abortion Laws Following The Disastrous Dobbs Decision

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the devastating impact of MAGA Republicans’ abortion laws, including the death of a Georgia woman, and laid out Senate Democrats’ efforts to act on legislation to prevent tragedies like this from happening again. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Last week, a report by ProPublica told the heart-wrenching story of Amber Thurman of Georgia, who died because abortion bans in her state prevented her from getting life-saving emergency care.

It is the first known case of a woman dying because of new abortion laws in the wake of the MAGA Supreme Court’s disastrous repeal of Roe. Doctors said her death was preventable.

This was a prime example of the government interfering in life-saving medical decision, exactly what is envisioned in the MAGA Project 2025.

Sadly, as we all know, she will not be the last. A person’s ability to receive lifesaving care—including lifesaving reproductive care should never – never – hinge on what state they live in. It should be something to which everyone in every state has a right.

And Georgia’s case is particularly foul because Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country, which disproportionality affects Black Americans.

What happened in Georgia is a direct example of how abortion bans continue to exacerbate the racial disparities in maternal death. Amber’s doctors didn’t perform the medical procedures they knew she needed because of Georgia’s law. It was the law overruling their good medical judgment. She went into septic shock and her heart stopped – all while doctors did everything except the medically-sound treatment she needed.

In our country right now, doctors are calling lawyers to ask permission before they treat a patient. Can you believe that? That is so wrong. But that's what our Republican colleagues in their extreme views on women's reproductive health have asked for.

Today the Senate will act on legislation to help prevent tragedies like Amber’s death from happening again.

First, Democrats will bring up a resolution, led by Senator Murray, that affirms the Senate’s position that every person has the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care.

I implore every single Senator—Democrat, Republican, Independent—to support this resolution.

It’s a simple idea – that emergency care should be a right for all and that doctors should never be afraid of doing their jobs while making life and death decisions. How on Earth could anyone have a problem with that?

Democrats will also bring up legislation led by Senator Baldwin, to create a grant program that will assist with travel-related expenses for those seeking an abortion. This fund would help people overcome financial barriers like transportation, lodging and childcare if patients need to travel out of states to get the care they need and require. Perhaps if Amber had access to this fund and could have left Georgia, if she had the federal resources to move quicker to get care, perhaps she’d be alive today.

I thank Senators Murray and Baldwin for leading these two important bills. If passed they may help save lives. I am proud to support them and urge everyone on both sides of the aisle to do the same.

When it comes to abortion, Donald Trump and Senate Republicans have kept pushing the same argument again and again, that abortion is best left to the states, leaving aside the fact that their end goal is a total abortion ban. 

The tragedy of Amber Thurman’s death shows exactly why leaving abortion to the states is such a dangerous idea in itself. It has led to a dangerously inconsistent application of justice and rights. Many of these state legislatures are dominated, frankly, by radicals who don’t know or care one iota about reproductive care.

And abortion is just the start for some of these states—some of them will want to police a woman’s travel, they’ll want to prosecute people who help women receive care, they want to jail doctors. That's already in legislative ideas in many of these states. These are utterly delusional ideas.

My Senate Republican colleagues say abortion should be left to the states—what have they to say about states like Georgia, where abortion laws got someone killed?

Do Republicans think this is a just outcome?

Do they think is this an acceptable way to legislate on people’s individual freedoms—some states saying one thing, other states saying something different?

I certainly don’t think so, Democrats don’t think so, and the American people don’t think so.

Again, all of this is an attempt for MAGA Republicans to get a national abortion ban.

I hope today we can see a tiny ray of light amidst so much darkness when it comes to reproductive freedoms.

I hope my colleagues on both sides support the legislation today. To say no would be a cruel and heartless message to send to the American people.

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