first kind in america's history that the supreme court has revoked a constitutionally protected right. the first time. as a result, a woman's personal decision to make her own reproductive health care choice is no longer protected or guaranteed by the constitution. in the words of justice kagan, sotomayor, the conservative majority has "consigned women to second-class citizenship." in overturning roe, the supreme court has a least a health-care crisis across america. make no mistake -- women's health and in some cases, their lives, are at risk. today, the committee will examine the very real consequences of the unprecedented decision. we start with a video. [video] >> the supreme court has overturned roe v. wade. >> pregnancy laws can land people in prison. pregnant people being criminalized for pregnancy outcomes. >> data collected from fertility apps and google searches could be used to prosecute abortion. black women and women of color are disproportionately criminalized. >> some of the bans do have civil and criminal penalties in terms of how they will be applied. every time a woman gets abortions, women who are younger, women who are old, women of all races, women who never thought that they would be seeking an abortion. >> if i'm not mature enough to make a decision to have a child, i'm definitely not mature enough to have one. >> if i have another high-risk pregnancy that puts my own life at risk? i do want another baby. and now i am scared to. >> i no longer have those rights . >> it is an effort to punish women, an effort to turn neighbors into bounty hunters of sorts. we end up having more abortions because of a lack of access to reproductive health including contraception. this law is not just about abortion, it is about reproductive health. women are going to die as a result of this. they are worried about breaking the law and going to jail and women will suffer and they will die. >> since the decision, at least 10 states have banned abortion. the bans include refusing exceptions for the life of the mother, and many do not even provide exceptions for rape or incest. so what exactly do these efforts mean in the real world? they mean that a woman facing complications in pregnancy could die waiting in the hallway of a hospital because a doctor must weigh the risk of jail time against making the best decision for the health of the patient. and organizations that help someone travel to a state like illinois may face legal liability. consider a letter sent to the simply austin law firm last week by a group of conservative texas lawmakers. which threatened to "impose additional civil and criminal sanctions upon law firms that pay for abortions or abortion travel." some republican lawmakers have even sought to punish women seeking abortions. in louisiana, republican legislators sought to advance a bill that would have subjected women who terminate pregnancy to charges of criminal homicide. it is a majority opinion that justice alito claims by overturning roe and casey, the court was simply returning the power to decide how abortion may be regulated to the states. but that raises many questions with no answers. leading health care providers and patients to navigate new restrictions that will likely face further constitutional damage. for example, in his concurring opinion, justice kavanaugh insists that a state cannot infringe on the court constitutional right to interstate travel. well, it seems some state republican lawmakers didn't get the message. they are proposing bills that will turn the state borders into checkpoint terminals for patients seeking abortions. in a post roe america, it is now abortion rights that are in peril. every constitutional right is under threat. that is not my conclusion, it is justice clarence thomas'conclusion. your constitutional right to privacy could be next. justice thomas declared that the court should "eliminate the constitutional right to birth control, marriage equality and consensual relationships between lgbtq people." this radical reversal for america comes in the aftermath of republican leader mcconnell's blocking president obama's right to file supreme court vacancy. president donald trump pledged to appoint nominees that would overturn roe v. wade. that with the box each one of them had to check before they could appear before this committee. today, three and four americans say they have lost faith in the supreme court. it is easy to see why. families are living in fear that some of their most cherished rights are now on the conservative chopping block. so what do we do to protect these rights? what do we do to defend women who have already had their rights revoked? under republican control, they would pose a federal ban on abortion. democrats have a different plan. protect your rights with a federal statutory right to an abortion. in fact, that is exactly what the vast majority of americans support. keeping access to abortion legal. a woman's choice to get an abortion is her choice alone. politicians have no business sitting in the waiting room with the doctor. with that, i will turn to ranking member grassley for his opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this is a very important hearing. i cast my first vote february, 1972 as a member of the iowa house of representatives. there was a motion before the house to repeal iowa's ban on abortion. i was one of 44 people in a 44-44 vote that voted not to repeal that dale, and obviously it's it didn't happen. next year, we had roe v. wade and there was never an issue in the iowa legislature until potentially it could be now as a result of the overturn. we are here today because the supreme court has corrected a wrong that has impacted millions of lives since 1973. we are here because the supreme court, in a meticulous and well-reasoned opinion returned the decision of abortions back to the states. for many americans, this decision is about far more than correcting a flawed legal analysis. it means protecting the rights of the unborn. this ruling doesn't ban the practice of abortion, but instead empowers the people to their account and relet -- elected representatives to make commonsense policy decisions. it takes policy out of the hands of unelected judges. i understand with a decision of this magnitude comes differences of opinion, and robust debate on the next steps. that is ok, and i welcome that. we live in a democracy, and with differences of opinion and passion for policies, all that followed by thoughtful debate can lead us to the best outcomes for the american people. however, the treatment of supreme court justices, pregnancy centers, and conservative women has been outrageous since the decision was leaked. remember this. eight out of 10 americans do not support abortion on demand right up to the time of birth. first, regardless of views on this issue, we should all respect the rule of the impartial judiciary and the decisions that it renders. seeking to intimidate or attack the board or undermined its credibility because of an outcome that you don't agree with his dangerous, and that is not an answer. justices have had their addresses published online, have been subjected to illegal pressure campaigns, and one justice was even the victim of an attempted assassination. i called on the justice department to enforce the law and protect the justices and their families from these very real threats. the lack of a response from both the justice department and the white house is extremely, extremely disappointing. along with the threats against the justices, threats against pro-life and crisis pregnancy centers have dramatically increased since the leak of the decision by pro-abortion extremists. there have been at least 40 violent attacks on crisis pregnancy centers, religious institutions, and other pro-life entities since the leak and before the court even issued its final opinion. the first pictures i have with me is a crisis pregnancy center in north carolina that was vandalized with pro-abortion and pro-nt five graffiti. that is in the corner, the nt for sign. another woman in oregon was set on fire, causing significant damage as you can see behind me. i pray for these centers and the thousands of patients they serve every day. i encourage all of my colleagues as well as myself to condemn the violence and vandalism. i want to ensure that these violent attacks are recognized by the fbi and are being properly investigated for what they are: cases of abortion-related violent extremism. let me be clear: very clear. threats and violence are not the answer. i also want to bring your attention to the incredible group of women that we have here with us today. we know women have been the center of the pro-life movement, and tirelessly advocating for the lives of the unborn and the well-being of mothers everywhere. i would like to introduce to you a few of these women in addition to our witnesses who i will introduce any moment. we have here witnessed today dr. christine francis. she is an ob/gyn in indiana. she chaired the board of the american association of obstetricians and gynecologists and a board member of the indiana right to life. dr. francis spent time working in romania and burma and working for three years as the only ob/gyn at a major hospital in rural kenya. she has dedicated her life professionally and personally to protecting the lives of the unborn and educating people on the dangers of the abortion industry. we are also fortunate to have someone like her in the practice of medicine. also, catherine glenn foster with us, who has in the past been a witness before this committee. she serves as a resident ceo of the americans united for life. she shared her story of having an abortion at 19 due to the extreme psychological break she faced. she felt alone after her decision. i am sorry for the loss that you experienced, catherine, and i hope that we can do better to give young women the love and support that they deserve, no matter what. the executive director of the capitol hill pregnancy center just down the road from us a short way provides preventative care as well as complete, accurate information pertaining to pregnancy and pregnancy options. the two also have dealt with vandalism but they continue to provide services such as counseling in childbirth, and parenting classes. thank you for the work that the center does to serve those in the d.c. area who need support the most. i also want to thank representatives of the incredible groups that we have here today, march for life, susan b. anthony, women of america. family research consults, to name a few. they also do incredible work advocating for the lives of the unborn and for that, i thank you. let's have a productive discussion today on how we can best support women and families going forward. as i said before, threatening justin's is -- justices, pregnancy centers and churches is not the answer. i hope the extreme rhetoric that gives rise to this violence will not be a of the conversation today. i would like to request to enter into the record the statements from the american association of polling. thank you. >> without objection, let me start our positive and bipartisan statement. time and again, i have stated political violence of any kind is unacceptable. no matter who commits it, no matter what. i condemn all violence and threats of violence in the strongest possible terms, whether it be targets of pregnancy counseling centers or abortion clinics. violence is never an appropriate form of protest. this committee has passed legislation that will protect our judges, and i am glad we did. i'm sorry to say that one of the most important acts, which would give the supreme court greater discretion in protecting the justices and their families among other conditions to protect judges has been held up on the floor and i can say the person holding it up is a jr. republican senator from kentucky. i think it is a serious mistake. lives are at risk, as we fail to put this into law and to give even more resources to the judiciary to protect their members. today, we welcome five witnesses and i thank them for joining us. i will briefly introduce the democratic witnesses then turned to senator grassley. the first witness is lieutenant governor julian stratton, the 48 lieutenant governor in the history of our state. she previously served as a member of the house of representatives and i am grateful for her traveling here. professor bridges, a professor of law at the university of california berkeley school of law. i also want to thank professor bridges who is here celebrating her birthday, soy understand she is in the audience, and we all come her. dr. -- is an ob/gyn and chief medical officer of planned parenthood in missouri. thank you for joining us today. let me turn to senator grassley for his introductions. >> my first person is denise harley, senior counsel defending freedom and director of the center of life. she leads her team litigation and advocacy effort to defend pro-life legislation around the country. she also works with pro-life allies on behalf of her organization and works to defend the first amendment freedoms of pro-life health care professionals at resource centers. she took the primary role in drafting the briefs to the u.s. supreme court, resulting in a free-speech victory for california pro-life pregnancy centers. we welcome you. next, the executive director of the alternative pregnancy center who has worked with them for seven years. the center is a nonprofit, pro-life women's medical which seeks to address the holistic aspect of unplanned pregnancy including the medical, emotional material and spiritual needs of the mother. the services are free through the clinic. the center provides pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, abortion pill reversals, testing and treatment, prenatal care, gynecological care, abortion recovery classes, and contraceptive education. prior to working at the center, she worked as director of health services for the group of financial strategies. we welcome you as well. >> thank you senator grassley. let me explain the traditional procedure before the committee. five minutes for opening statements and then members will be recognized in order for five minutes questions. before we proceed, i ask for witnesses to please stand and raise their right hand for the administration of the oath. do you swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the full truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god? let the record flecked the witnesses have answered in the affirmative. please proceed. >> good and thank you, chairman durbin, ranking member grassley, and distinguished members of the senate judiciary committee for the opportunity to testify today. i am giuliana stratton, lieutenant governor of the great state of illinois, and i use she-her pronouns. since coming into office, we have been focused on the health, safety, and access to opportunities for all women of illinois of all backgrounds and ages. one way that we have worked to make that a reality is by preserving and protecting legal abortion in illinois. in 2019, governor christopher signed the reproductive health act, which enshrined reproductive rights into state law. it repealed outdated laws criminalizing abortion, and requires private health insurance plans to cover abortion as the final reproductive health procedure that it is. we made a vow that our state would be a beacon of hope for all which was a promise that we made to the people of illinois, and i come before you today because people throughout the entire midwest are relying on our commitment to protect and preserve women's rights, namely, the right to an abortion. it is no secret that illinois stands out as one of the only states in the u.s. where our laws on legal abortion have not been impacted by the supreme court overturning of roe v. wade. we are not just an oasis of reproductive care, but an island. and here is what that looks like. it looks like disenfranchised yet determined patients coming from every surrounding state but also from as far away as tennessee, texas, louisiana, alabama and or it up. it looks like the entire staff of our state's abortion clinics fielding phone calls for appointments because the number of out-of-state patients has doubled since roe v. wade was overturned, and that is on top of the nearly 10,000 women who already came to illinois seeking abortion care. according to 2020 data. in the coming months and years, these numbers will inevitably increase, and sadly, too, will be preventable suffering and pain of women and families across the nation facing the negative ramification of a post- roe america. because of the history of systemic racism, we know that these are amplified within the black and latinx communities. it would be devastating for black women whose maternal or telly rate is already two to three times higher than that of white women because of structural racism and misogyny. without safe and legal access to abortion, that number will increase by over 30% among black women and nearly 20% for hispanic women. let's take a moment to just let that sink in. we are facing a future world with needless death despite 61% of american leaving abortion should be legal in most or all cases according to a pure research survey conducted in march, 2022. it is hard to overestimate just how devastating the outcome of this ruling is and will be despite our years of preparations. before the threats to roe v. wade were fully realized, illinois was proactive, upholding bodily autonomy and protecting rights to an abortion and still, the overturning of roe v. wade has sent us down a dark, agonizing path. the supreme court decision does not "leave abortion up to the states" when every state will be impacted. to be clear, this means every city, town, county, urban, suburban and rural, and our rural and unincorporated areas are already experiencing that when it comes to accessing health care overall. the weight of this ruling will surely be felt across state borders. in illinois and in states like ours, we are bracing for what is to come, as these diverse communities across the nation turned to us. -- called on the president to move forward on key items that would address have states like ours would be affected, by creating a centralized hub to ease the burden on facility capacity amid higher demand, and most of all, illinois and other states with legal abortion need more access to federal money to support demand. i commend president biden for the steps he has taken to safeguard access to reproductive care through executive order which included actions to expand access to contraception. this is a great start. in illinois, all hands are on deck as we brace for what is coming because we know we are the only lifeline for so many after so much has been taken away from women, from the american people. i say this not just as lieutenant governor of illinois, but as a mother of four daughters. my daughters who now have fewer rights than i had. and based on justice clarence thomas'concurring opinion, it is likely this may not be the last right that will be stripped from future generations as access to contraceptives and the right to love and marry who you choose have already come under threat to be overturned. in illinois, we will not go back. we will not be silent or stand on the sidelines, and i think illinois legislative leaders and air states journal assembly and all the committee advocates who have joined forces to ensure just that. we already know how dangerous it is to turn back the clock of process -- progress and i asked each of you as leaders to help us push forward before it is too late. thank you. >> thank you for, we extended the period for your statement a little bit in the same courtesy we extend to others. >> chairman durbin, ranking member grassley, an