May 6, 2022
Congresswoman Betty McCollum who represents Minnesota’s Fourth District is a principled member of Congress. She supported aid to Palestinian children, is a staunch environmentalist and a firm supporter of women’s rights. Women Won’t Go Back is from her May 5, 2022 letter to her constituency.
Women Won’t Go Back
The leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion striking down Roe v. Wade is an attack on all women and our reproductive freedom. Republican lawmakers and judges want to decide women’s health care access instead of women deciding by themselves in consultation with a medical provider. Make no mistake: the Trump Supreme Court and Republicans in Congress and state legislatures are using their power to impose an authoritarian agenda to make women less free.
The far-reaching implications of this draft opinion are incredibly ominous for the future of our nation. The Trump Court is making it clear that fundamental civil rights and freedoms can be rolled back against any group of Americans, anywhere, at any time.
States are now on the forefront of this battle. Because of GOP-led legislatures and governors, nearly half of our states have trigger laws in place that will make abortion illegal immediately following this decision. In Minnesota, Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan are committed to protecting reproductive rights. With the governor’s race and state legislature on the ballot in November, protecting reproductive freedom is squarely in the hands of Minnesotans.
As a young woman prior to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, and now as a member of Congress, I’ve been fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment as well as the Women’s Health Protection Act to enshrine the rights of women and the right to choose. I know what it is like to fight for, and fail to secure, a constitutional right to equality for women in the U.S. Constitution. But the battle continues.
