Representative Cori Bush shares her abortion story with House panel

The abortion right debate has flared up again on Capitol Hill after the Supreme Court earlier this month refused to block a Texas law banning most abortions. As other states rush to pass similar restrictions, and the now-conservative-dominated court prepares to take on a case that could overturn the 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, Democrats are making the issue a central part of their campaign strategy for next year. midterm elections.

They are also seeking to advance legislation that would codify the Roe decision; the House passed the Women’s Health Protection Act last week to do just that. But the bill has little chance of making headway in the heavily divided Senate, where Republicans strongly oppose it.

Thursday’s hearing, which also included a virtual appearance by women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem, demonstrated the depth of this partisan split. Representatives James R. Comer of Kentucky, Republican of Kentucky, insisted Congress must continue to ban taxpayer-funded abortions, while Rep. Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina, said she felt “deep sadness” for the women who have terminated their pregnancy.

“Instead of glorifying this horrific act of desperation, we should mourn the tens of millions of Americans who never had the chance to take their first breath, to see their mother’s face,” Ms. Foxx said.

A recent NBC poll found that a majority of Americans – 54% – believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. This included a clear majority of women, commuters and people living in the northeast. But the majority of evangelical Christians, rural Americans and southerners have said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

The hearing, titled “A Desperate State: Examining the Urgent Need to Protect and Expand Abortion Rights and Access in the United States,” also revealed how the issue of abortion is intertwined with the racial divide in the United States. Ms. Bush described how belittled she felt as a black teenage girl “being told that if I had this baby I would end up with food stamps and welfare.”

Representative Ayanna S. Pressley, Democrat from Massachusetts, who is black, explained in her opening statement how denial of abortion care affects people of color, including “our lowest income sisters; our queer, trans and non-binary siblings.