Thread by @prhdocs

Let’s get started! Thank you Chairman @RepJerryNadler and Members of the Committee for organizing this important panel on the dangerous consequences of medically unnecessary abortion bans like Texas’s #SB8. #BansOffOurBodies

@RepJerryNadler: "communities and families in Texas have been devastated." #SB8 #BansOffOurBodies

@RepJerryNadler: "In the last 20 years, TX has passed some of the most extreme antiabortion laws in the country." #SB8 #BansOffOurBodies

@RepJerryNadler: these laws are not based in science. We agree. #SB8 #BansOffOurBodies

@RepJerryNadler: "I will not stop fighting to protect the right to abortion." Thank you! #SB8 #BansOffOurBodies

We are proud of the essential abortion care our doctors provide. Care that allows people to live their lives with dignity and autonomy. #SB8 #BansOffOurBodies

Ready for our fierce witnesses. @dr_moayedi is up next! Thank you for all that you do for your patients and community. ❤️ #BansOffOurBodies

“My name is Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi and I use she/her pronouns. I am a Board Certified ob/gyn, the child of Iranian immigrants, a mom, a Texan, and a proud abortion provider.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“For over sixty days, abortion care has been nearly inaccessible in my home state of Texas due to #SB8.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“Texans have been waiting for the courts, for Congress, for anyone to intervene and halt this unconstitutional abortion ban. I’m here today because we are still waiting.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“As dangerous and as cruel as this law is, accessing life saving abortion care has always been a challenge in Texas, even before #SB8.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“Consider Marie: a 35 year old American citizen, 18 weeks pregnant, working a minimum wage job, living in Dallas, TX, and seeking abortion care in August just prior to #SB8 being enacted.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“She, like most people who have abortions, is already a parent and is resolute in her decision to end her pregnancy.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“And although Marie is confident and informed about her abortion, simply because she lives in Texas, Marie is FORCED to endure multiple harmful restrictions when accessing abortion care.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“Marie is FORCED by Texas law to make an appointment with a physician in advance of her procedure.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“As her physician, I am then compelled by the state to FORCE Marie into a medically unnecessary ultrasound.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“I’m compelled by the State to FORCE Marie to look at and listen to the ultrasound. I’m compelled by the State to FORCE Marie to hear a description of the ultrasound.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“I’m compelled by the State to FORCE Marie to receive medically inaccurate, state-mandated scripts. After all of this, I’m still compelled by the State to FORCE Marie to wait at least 24 hrs to receive her desired health care.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“Now if Marie were 16 instead of 35, her abortion care would be even further delayed by the need for parental consent or judicial bypass.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“If Marie were undocumented and living in El Paso, instead of Dallas, she would be completely denied access to abortion” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“Even before #SB8, the lack of abortion providers and the internal border checkpoints within Texas and New Mexico prevent Marie from accessing the next, closest clinic.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“Today, Marie cannot get an abortion in Dallas. And because of the influx of Texas patients, the next closest clinic in Oklahoma City, where I also provide care, has a weeks-long waiting list for an appointment.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“I should not be forced to travel hours and hours away from my home to care for patients, my neighbors, who traveled hours and hours to see me.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“By the time Marie is able to schedule an appointment in Oklahoma, she will be twenty-two weeks pregnant and unable to get care, because of Oklahoma’s medically unecessary abortion restrictions.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“So now we’re moving in concentric circles, further and further away from her home, and further and further away from hope.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“An abortion ban in Texas creates a ripple effect of injustice, impacting all of us. The influx of Texas patients is straining our neighboring states, pushing people in OK who need abortion care out of their communities to other states like AR & KS” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“This is what #SB8 intendeds to do – deny people, both in and out of Texas, the ability to have abortions.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“Today, abortion care has almost completely stopped in our state and the health and safety of all pregnant people in Texas is in jeopardy. We know chronic conditions can worsen in pregnancy, but not worsen enough to warrant an exception under this law.” #BansOffOurBodies

“Ob/gyns and other prenatal health care providers are confused about how to comply AND care for our communities.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“Right now, TODAY, physicians and hospitals in Texas are delaying life-saving care for critically ill pregnant people because their pregnancies still have fetal cardiac activity.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“#SB8 has made Texas an extremely dangerous place to be a pregnant person, where maternal morbidity and mortality is already unconscionably high, especially for Black women and pregnant people of color. Texans deserve better.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

@dr_moayedi “As a physician, I know first-hand that abortion saves lives. For the thousands of people I’ve cared for, abortion is a blessing. Abortion is an act of love. Abortion is freedom.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“All Texans have the human right to have children, the human right to parent their children in safe communities, and the human right to abortion care.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“It is critical for this Committee to understand the dire consequences facing all of our communities right now.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“We need federal protection of abortion. We need laws that recognize the dignity and autonomy of people accessing this care. We need policies that elevate science and evidence, not politics.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“The #ActForAbortionAccess is an important and critical step, but it is not enough.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“We need legislation like the #EACHAct, the #Momnibus Bill, the #HEAL4Immigrants Families Act…” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“Measures that will protect pregnant and birthing people in all of their decisions so that they can live their best and healthiest lives.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

“But most of all, we need you to not forget us, the people of Texas and other heavily restricted states, who are trying our best to care for ourselves, our families, and our communities amidst efforts to completely control our bodies and lives.” @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

Next we’ll hear from Prof. Bridges of @BerkeleyLaw

“I am here today to explain how abortion restrictions and bans, like SB 8 disproportionately impact pregnant people of color - especially Black women.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“For decades...SCOTUS has affirmed that a person has a right to choose to have an abortion before viability and to obtain it without undue interference.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“SCOTUS in Casey made clear that a ‘woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy before viability is the most central principle of Roe.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“It is a rule of law and a component of liberty we cannot renounce.” SB 8 violates this central principle of Roe. It has been harming Texans in need of care for over 2 mos.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“The law leaves enforcement of its prohibition on abortion to private citizens instead of state actors - a feature of the law that its architects hoped would permit the law to evade judicial review.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“The 5th Cir. and SCOTUS left the law in place. In the words of Justice Sotomayor, ‘the State’s gambit has worked.’ The law is in effect.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“For 2 mos., abortion providers in TX have been unable to provide care to scores of patients who desperately need it.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“Because Texans seeking to exercise their constitutional right to an abortion must travel outside of the state to do so, the burdens imposed by SB 8 are tremendous.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“The greatest harms have fallen, and will continue to fall, on the most marginalized people in TX. Indeed, for the poorest people in TX these burdens are insurmountable.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“Crucially, because there is a close relationship between socioeconomic status and race - with Black people disproportionately living in poverty - burdens to poor people constitute burdens to Black people.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“The result is that disproportionate numbers of Black people will be among those who are coerced to continue pregnancies and have children against their will….” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“Further, Black people receive abortion care at higher rates than their counterparts.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

@BerkeleyLaw “This is true, in large part, because Black people experience unintended pregnancies at higher rates than their counterparts of other races.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“Because Black people rely on abortion care more frequently than their nonblack counterparts, barriers to abortion like SB8 inflict greater harms on Black people than those of other races.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

@BerkeleyLaw “Essentially, abortion restrictions do not have race neutral effects. Feminists of color have long recognized the importance of ensuring that Black women and other Black people who can become pregnant are able to decide whether or not they will become parents.” #BansOffOurBodies

@BerkeleyLaw “They have understood that there are forces that would coerce Black people into parenthood - like the forces that wrongly assert that abortion is Black genocide.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

@BerkeleyLaw “They have also understood that there are forces that would deny Black people parenthood - like the forces that subjected tens of thousands of Black women to forced sterilizations…” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

@BerkeleyLaw "Because feminists of color have realized that controlling Black people’s reproduction has long been a tool of racial oppression, they have identified Black people’s ability to control their own reproduction as a tool for racial justice.#BansOffOurBodies

“Because the ability to terminate a pregnancy enables Black people to control their reproduction, feminists of color consider abortion access to be essential to racial justice.” @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

“Thus, SB 8 and other regulations that make abortion inaccessible are tools of racial subordination.” TY Prof Bridges! @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

Now we’ll hear from abortion storyteller with @AbortionStories and Co-Executive Director of Florida Access Network, @stephloraine28 #BansOffOurBodies

@AbortionStories @stephloraine28 “I am a Puerto Rican poderosa, a surivivor of sexual assault, a bisexual woman who has had two abortions, and a social worker with a masters degree from the University of Central Florida.”

“As proud as I am to testify today, I am dismayed that I am here to explain why we must continue to defend our constitutionally protected right to abortion.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

“As a result of the #SCOTUS’s inaction, Texas’ #SB8 was allowed to go into effect adding yet another barrier for people who want abortions. If that wasn’t scary enough, states like mine are working to enact similar bans.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

@stephloraine28 @AbortionStories “I am worried for our future and what it means for people who need abortions today, tomorrow, and for years to come.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

“I know what it is like to want an abortion, only to be tripped up by medically unnecessary restrictions and financial barriers.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

“When I was a teenager, I became pregnant twice, once as a result of a rape and again during a relationship when I was 17. Both times I knew I wanted an abortion.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

@stephloraine28 @AbortionStories “After my rape, I felt ashamed and blamed myself. Now, I know that being raped was not my fault and wanting an abortion is nothing to be ashamed of regardless of how someone becomes pregnant.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

@stephloraine28 @AbortionStories “Before my second abortion, when I was 16, my Catholic pediatrician refused to prescribe birth control against my request.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

@stephloraine28 @AbortionStories “A year later, when my then-boyfriend tried to purchase Plan B, the pharmacist refused to sell it.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

“I was afraid of violence escalating in my already unsteady home and about what could happen if I told my very strict parents that I needed another abortion.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

@stephloraine28 @AbortionStories “Like 72 million Americans, my family was enrolled in Medicaid, but because of the Hyde Amendment, my abortions were not eligible for coverage.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

@stephloraine28 @AbortionStories “When I had my abortions I was a high school student working as a waitress and helping my family during the recession earning $2.17 an hour as my base pay with no paid parental leave.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

“I had to pick up extra shifts just to afford the $450 for my abortion. I shouldn’t have had to choose between our family’s basic needs and affording my abortion.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

“Because Florida has a parental involvement law, I had to skip class to go to court and ask a judge—a complete stranger—for permission to end my pregnancy through a process called “Judicial Bypass.”” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

@stephloraine28 @AbortionStories “This is what I see every day at the Florida Access Network. We take calls from people who need help getting to a clinic and affording their abortions.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

@stephloraine28 @AbortionStories “We help people with rides or gas money to get to their appointments, coordinating childcare, and navigating the judicial bypass process.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

“We fund abortion because low wages, abortion restrictions like #SB8, and policies like the Hyde Amendment make abortion unattainable.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BeBoldEndHyde

“We fund abortion because no one should be turned away from the health care they want because they can’t afford it.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

@stephloraine28 @AbortionStories “All of you in this room have the power to pass legislation to ensure that we are able to access abortion care, without these restrictions written by people who want nothing but to deprive us of health care.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

“We deserve access to abortions, free of stigma and shame. As we say at WeTestify, everyone loves someone who has abortions.” @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories #BansOffOurBodies

@stephloraine28 @AbortionStories Thank you @stephloraine28! We love you and how you stand for people who have abortions.

@dr_moayedi to @RepJerryNadler - #SB8 has decimated access to abortion. It is a nightmare. #BansOffOurBodies

@dr_moayedi @RepJerryNadler Prof. Bridges to @RepJerryNadler - abortion restrictions are comparable to eugenics. It is the state deciding who will become a parent. @BerkeleyLaw

TY for your support of abortion @JacksonLeeTX18. #BansOffOurBodies

@JacksonLeeTX18 @dr_moayedi explains to @JacksonLeeTX18 harassment she endures as an abortion provider in TX. No one should be harassed for providing or accessing abortion care. #BansOffOurBodies

Antichoice politicians using grossly inflammatory and misleading language. Language matters and it is wrong to stigmatize and dehumanize providers of abortion care. #BansOffOurBodies

Abortion IS freedom. Abortion IS an act of love. Abortion IS health care. #BansOffOurBodies

#SB 8 is flagrantly unconstitutional. - Prof. Bridges @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

Extraordinary, egregious, extreme - Prof. Bridges describing SCOTUS allowing #SB8 to go into effect. #BansOffOurBodies

For the record, abortion care providers like @dr_moayedi provide excellent, compassionate care for their communities. We're thankful docs like her are providing care and fighting for their communities in Congress. Retweet and show your appreciation. #BansOffOurBodies

Manipulation is not help. Misinformation is not help. #BansOffOurBodies

Prof. Bridges talks about the control of the reproduction of people who were enslaved and the parallels with #SB8 today with @RepKarenBass. #BansOffOurBodies @BerkeleyLaw

Now we are off on a tangent about election law decisions...because opponents of abortion hate discussing #SB8. They know it is cruel and extreme and unconstitutional. #BansOffOurBodies

@RepJeffries asks about criminalization of abortion and pregnancy. Prof. Bridges explains that there would be a disparate impact on Black women and people of color. @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

As we take a break for votes, we cannot say enough how much we love @dr_moayedi and her colleagues for the care and compassion they show patients every day. ❤️❤️❤️#BansOffOurBodies

@dr_moayedi Timing update - the hearing will probably start again around 2pm Eastern. Hydrate and rest. Fund abortion. Abortion funds in TX still need support to help people because of #SB8. Make a donation at secure.actblue.com/donate/txfunds #BansOffOurBodies

We're still waiting for the hearing to restart, but when it does we'll be right back here. #BansOffOurBodies

Annnnnd we're back! That was... a long wait. Hope you had a snack, some water, and took a deep breath.

Thank you to the witnesses @dr_moayedi @stephloraine28 and Prof. Bridges for your deep dedication for communities needing abortions. #BansOffOurBodies

Op.... the witness on the other side had to leave... that's just too bad...

Let us hear from our witnesses! Tell us about abortion! #BansOffOurBodies

Chairman @RepJerryNadler makes the great call to keep the hearing going! Thank you Chairman for allowing the facts to be shared about abortion. #BansOffOurBodies

We LOVE that they printed out @dr_moayedi's tweet on PAPER like the piece of ART that it is. She is a radically compassionate, expert, skilled, caring provider of abortion care. #BansOffOurBodies

This attack on @dr_moayedi is abusive.

We know and love Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi. She is a member of our PRH family. She leads with love. She guides her medical practice with deep care and with equity and justice front and center.

#BansOffOurBodies

Her name is DR. Moayedi. Not Ms. Moayedi. Get it right, @RepMikeJohnson. You are truly disrespectful.

#BansOffOurBodies

Prof. Bridges : "We've been workin' it. There's nothing unsettled about Roe." Abortion is constitutional. Bans like #SB8 are blatantly unconstitutional. #BansOffOurBodies @BerkeleyLaw

"Abortion is incredibly safe. Abortion is lifesaving." @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

@dr_moayedi YOU HEARD IT RIGHT: Abortion is LIFESAVING! Abortion is a BLESSING!

#BansOffOurBodies

"As a survivor I feel appalled and worried that elected officials would affirm that forcing survivors of incest and rape to stay pregnant is okay."
@stephloraine28
@AbortionStories
#BansOffOurBodies

These attacks on the professional nature of @dr_moayedi are monstrous. Dr. Moayedi provides safe, compassionate, evidence based health care. And she will *always* deserve to feel safe in her community, free from harassment and abuse.

#BansOffOurBodies

It is wild that @RepAndyBiggsAZ is answering on behalf of their witness who... left the hearing. That is not how a hearing works, Congressman.

We know that bans on abortion around 6 weeks of pregnancy are not about heartbeats, which is what anti-abortion extremists would like you to believe.

Fetal cardiac electrical activity, on a cellular level, is what can be detected around 6 weeks. This is not a functioning heart.

Bans on abortion are never based on medicine, science, best practices, safety protocols, or fact. They are based on trying to control people's bodies and lives.

#BansOffOurBodies

"Please do not be paternalistic towards us as we make choices that are OUR choices. I would like to leave protecting my health to my doctor, and to me." Thank you @RepJayapal. #BansOffOurBodies

"SCOTUS let a flagrantly unconstitutional law go into effect. We're still dealing with that today." Prof. Bridges on #SB8 and how abortion is treated differently than other constitutional rights. #BansOffOurBodies @BerkeleyLaw

"This is not new. This is what people have abortions deal with." @stephloraine28 @AbortionStories @FLAccessNetwork on the harassment, stigma, and shame people who have abortions are unnecessarily forced to go through. #BansOffOurBodies

"We have people who are critically ill, pregnant, and need an abortion and we're having to delay care. I am already seeing the devastating effects [of #SB8] and I expect it will be getting worse." @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

It's offensive that @RepDanBishop is gendering the fetus in this ultrasound picture... what is happening...

Thank you @RepValDemings for the gratitude you expressed to @stephloraine28 of @AbortionStories and @FLAccessNetwork. We agree. Her story is making countless people in Florida and across our country feel seen, made visible, and feel loved.

#BansOffOurBodies

"Texas has one of the most restrictive voting regulations. I'd be skeptical that all the people were represented in this law." Prof. Bridges on why we can't call #SB8 democratically established. @BerkeleyLaw

"Procedural rules have substantive consequences. The rights of Texans are being infringed." Prof. Khiara Bridges @BerkeleyLaw #BansOffOurBodies

"No constitutional right is safe. This begins and abortion, but who knows where this will end." Prof. Bridges shares the true threat #SB8 poses to everyone in our country. #BansOffOurBodies @BerkeleyLaw

We love @stephloraine28's tried and true dedication to people who need abortions at any time, for any reason. @FLAccessNetwork #BansOffOurBodies

"No civilized person should support forced pregnancy" 🔥 @stephloraine28 #BansOffOurBodies

"I am here to talk about medical care. What you are discussing is not the reality of how abortion care is delivered in this country." @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

"I do not believe there should be any restrictions on bodily autonomy." @dr_moayedi #BansOffOurBodies

Texans of all faiths, including Catholics like @RepSylviaGarcia, know that banning abortion is CRUEL. Banning abortion is INHUMANE. Thank you, Congresswoman, for your leadership.

#BansOffOurBodies

"Thankfully we have options to self manage abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol that are safe, but not everyone has access." @dr_moayedi shares that medication abortion is safe. It is effective. #BansOffOurBodies

Thank you @dr_moayedi @stephloraine28 and Prof. Khiara Bridges of @BerkeleyLaw for giving your time, care, and expertise to all of us today. #SB8 and all abortion bans cause such irreparable harm to communities. We need #BansOffOurBodies now.

And we'll close with @dr_moayedi's truth:

Abortion is love.

Abortion is a blessing.

Abortion is freedom.

Abortion is lifesaving.

These are the blessings we need and hope for. For all of us.

#BansOffOurBodies

@threadreaderapp unroll this thread, please and thank you!