Transcripts For CSPAN3 Hearing On Privacy Civil Rights In P

Good morning, everyone. The House Committee on the Judiciary Committee will come to order without objection the chair is authorized to declare recess of the committee at any time. We welcome everyone to this mornings hearing. Whats next threatening individual freedoms in a postroe v wade world. To remind members we have established an email list dedicated to circulating exhibits, motions or other materials members might want to offer as a part of todays hearing. We would like to submit materials, please send them to the email address that has been previously distributed to your offices and we will circulate the materials to members and staff as quickly as we can. Before we start, i would like to warn that members that because we have votes at 12 30, im going to have a very tight gavel. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. What is the meaning of freedom in america in 2022 . This is the question as a society we must confront today in the appalling decision in Dobbs V Jackson Womens Health organization which eviscerated the constitutional right to abortion and laid the groundwork for a radical reshaping of our fundamental liberties. As you reckon with the consequences of this decision for Womens Health of individual liberty, we must also consider which other constitutional protections such as the right to contraception, the right to marry whomever we choose and the fundamental right to privacy may also fall by the wayside to the Current Supreme Court majority continues that. By overturning 50 years in planned parenthood versus casey, the court denied the right of women to a quality body autonomy and essential healthcare. Rights justly relied on for almost a half a century. In doing so the Court Removes individuals from the power to decide the fundamental question to carry or terminate a pregnancy, and instead gave that power to the government making decisions about when and how to start a family is central to womens lives. It is the very essence of what it means to be secure in ones bodily autonomy, basic Human Dignity and prerequisites for freedom. In dobbs, the majority ignored these principles and turned back the clock 50 years. Make no mistake, overturning roe is just the start. Republicans and antiAbortion Forces are determined to enact the nationwide ban on abortion the next time they control the branches of the federal government. You dont have to take my word for it. At the Senate Minority leader Mitch Mcconnell made it clear that, quote, it is possible for the Republican Controlled Congress to enact such a ban. The Washington Post reported that, quote, leading antiabortion groups and their allies have been leading behindthescenes to plan a National Strategy including the push for the strict nationwide ban on the republicans taking power in washington. With the impact and undermining the immersion access much of the last two generations congress, Supreme Court and the executive branch enacted even with some considerable backsliding at times with guarantees of personal liberty and autonomy against government interference. These constitutional and legal guarantees and personal liberties in turn reflect american societies move to in ever more expensive view of individual freedom. Today, however, the radical rightwing majority on the Supreme Court seems to challenge the broad arc of the nations history that has been towards greater freedom and justice for all and the judicial activists that have barely tried and that we as a society would remain in place. At the right to the majority believe the court was wrong to overturn the constitutional guarantee for Abortion Access but the court defied the will of the majority and in doing so undermined its own legitimacy in their eyes. According to the majorities limited conceptions afforded liberty or understanding of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the constitution should be frozen in amber at the time the constitution and the 14th amendment ratified. Periods in history when women and minorities were largely locked out of public life and american democracy. It would be to the future attack. Calling on the court to overturn all of the substantive jurisprudence including specifically the precedents recognizing the protections to the contraception, intimate relations, Marriage Equality it is inviting legal challenges to these and other rights. With that said these other fundamental rights. To secure the blessings and liberty to ourselves and our prosperity in the constitutions preamble states we must remain vigilant against forces hostile to the liberty including unfortunately the current majority on the Supreme Court. We should also consider legislative measures that will secure the rights of the constitution currently guaranteed. As a gentle man from ohio, mr. Jordan for his opening statement. To ensure the decision isnt misunderstood or mischaracterized, we emphasize or decision concerns the right to abortion and no other rights. Not being in his opinion should be understood on the precedents that do not concern abortion. The court also said this and this is critical we hold that roe and casey must be overruled and the constitution makes no reference to abortion and no such right is protected by any constitutional provision. It is time to lead to the constitution and return the issuer to the peoples elected representatives. Those statements are what bothered the left. Their beef is with the constitution. The court was clear the constitution means what it says. This will allow the taking of an unborn childs life right up until and they are so pro abortion that they are willing to engage in all kinds of efforts to intimidate the highest court in the land. It started a while back and said this. On the steps of the United States Supreme Court. And i want to tell you gorsuch and kavanaugh you released a whirlwind and will pay the price. You dont know what will happen if you go forward on these decisions. Intimidation continued when the chair man of this committee 15 months ago introduced legislation to not one, two, three, but for associate justices to the United States Supreme Court. The intimidation continued when this committee in the left in the concerted effort targeted Justice Thomas and his wife when they went after them repeatedly. We had a hearing on it here in this committee. And then of course the intimidation reached something weve never seen. Something thats never happened before. The leaking of a draft opinion by the court. Never happened in the history of the country. So focused are they on going against the constitution and having their pro abortion agenda happen and of course after the leak, there were protests that justices in a statute. They held a matter pending before the highest court. During that time when all the protesting was going on at the justices homes when Justice Barrett had her school put online and the last but online where her family attends church on sunday morning they passed legislation to give protection to justices families and the speaker of the house of representatives held up and passed unanimously and the speaker of the house held up the legislation for four weeks. And guess what happened during that time. We had Something Else thats never happened in the history of the country, an assassination attempt on a sitting justice of the United States Supreme Court. Stop and think about that for a second. We have a Justice Department that has failed to prosecute anyone with a statute thats directly on point with people protesting trying to intimidate and influence pending before the court the Justice Department refuses to do anything. The Justice Department that is now complicit in this attack by the left to intimidate the court, complicit in going after the separate but equal branch of our government. It might take a while but i want to read this. I think its important. These are attacks that have happened on Crisis Pregnancy Centers and churches over the last ten weeks individuals vandalized in maryland and portland morgan they spraypainted graffiti on the Resource Center, may 7th activists vandalized a Crisis Pregnancy Center in texas and may 7, fort collins on the doors of a catholic parish, may 8th, mothers day, individuals attempted to break into their Oregon Office and vandals spraypainted pro abortion messages on the site of a prolife Pregnancy Center and a Nonprofit Center in madison, wisconsin was set on fire and vandalized and the words if abortion isnt safe then you arent either. Activists threatening in maryland. May 18th vandals targeted a Medical Clinic in Auburn Alabama and may 205th, the pro abortion activists smashed windows and the Pregnancy Centers and left a threat on the outside of the building at graffiti if abortion is in safe, you arent either. June 2nd, Anchorage Alaska Staff Members Pregnancy Centers upwards in class of the parking lot and graffiti all over the building. June 2nd, credit for [inaudible] n] and including god loves abortion this isnt a safe at the Agape Pregnancy Resource Center in des moines, iowa. The capitol hill Crisis Center was the target of activists who threw red paint on the doors to exit the building and vandals broke windows reports indicate they firebombed the comcast care prolife Pregnancy Center in the university of new york and june 10th there was a fire at the Resource Center in oregon. June 10th in pennsylvania vandals smashed windows and put graffiti on the hope Pregnancy Center june 15th and activists smashed windows june 19th in michigan windows smashed at the pregnancy counseling center, june 202nd jackson michigan. Vandals graffiti then smashed the windows of the office. June 204th Pregnancy Resource Center of Salt Lake City was vandalized within hours of the release of the decision. June 204th. North carolina the gop headquarters were spraypainted with, quote, abortion is in safe, neither are you. June 204th, Saint Anthonys Catholic Church vandalized with authorities saying the suspect painted messages saying they think i cant stay here in the committee. Lynchburg virginia, pro abortion activists vandalized the Pregnancy Center. June 205th Saint Patrick philadelphia defaced with a birth the church and spraypainted on the outside of the church. June 205th june 205th they breached the arizona capital writing the Dobbs Decision overturning roe and june 205th of the vermont Capitol Building was vandalized by protesters who painted his abortions arent saved neither are you. June 205th, cortez colorado. Pregnancy center defaced with graffiti. June 205th, colorado vandals put graffiti and set fire to the life choice and free pregnancy services. June 205th Portland Oregon the rioters vandalized mother and Child Education center for the second time since the Dobbs Decision. The 25th, Portland Oregon all saints Catholic Church had graffiti put on it. June 205th, pro abortion activists destroyed cameras, spray painted the Life Choice Center with all kinds of threatening messages. The 26th tallahassee, florida Saint Phillips church targeted. June 27, Upper West Side of new york, the prochoice network put graffiti if abortions are and save neither are you on the roman Catholic Church. Twentyseventh Portland Oregon protesters targeted the Baptist Church and june 207th in oregon we still got more attempted an arson attack on the two hearts Pregnancy Center. June 27 in washington a man caught on video smashing glass windows, spray painting messages all over the Catholic Church. June 207th in virginia, Pregnancy Center was vandalized with graffiti that included the phrase if abortion isnt safe, you arent safe. I guess proving that people that do this are not just criminals, they also failed english class. June 27 the Resource Center clinic had windows smashed. June 30th in nashville tennessee, a cocktail was thrown through the first floor of the Pregnancy Resource Center and Madison Wisconsin was vandalized with messages on the outside of the church that we cannot read. July 5th in washington, a sound center was vandalized and burned. St. Paul minnesota Crisis Pregnancy Center was vandalized. July 5th in florida the heartbeat of the miami center centerwas vandalized with hate messages. Worchester massachusetts the clinic the prolife Pregnancy Center and i have three more. The center sustained smashed windows and three windows. July 8, massachusetts Crisis Pregnancy Center across the street was hit with paint and july 10 bethesda maryland set fire to the Bethesda United Methodist Church and destroyed the wildwood Baptist Church and july 10 bethesda maryland st. James parish was broken into, set on fire and the pastor spoke about the text saying last night our church was vandalized, people broke in, the overturned statues, they tore down the cross, desecrated the tabernacle he had said the church on fire. A whirlwind of the majority talked about on the steps of the Supreme Court. The whirlwind he talked about that he called for this is that whirlwind. This is just in ten weeks. May 3rd through this past weekend. There are more that have happened since in the last few days. But just in ten weeks that all happened. We should be talking about that and asking the Justice Department what are you doing about this effort that looks to me like the domestic terrorist effort coordinated in so many ways because the method was often the same on so many of the Crisis Centers that is what we should be focused on but no the democrats want to talk about the radical pro abortion agenda and with that i will yield back. Let me just say that no one condones arson for threats, but there is a long history from extremists on both sides. Planned parenthood for many years has been the subject of the attacks. Attacks and even murder. Buffalo new york was murdered because he was an Abortion Provider comes to mind. So, these long lists both sides have these long lists and no one is principal condones any of it. I will now introduce todays witnesses. The frederick professor of law at New York University law. Prior she was of the faculty of the university covering a Berkeley School of law where she also served as the interim dean and previously clerked for sotomayor and the court of appeals to the Second Circuit and the under circuit. Professor murray received a ba from the university of virginia and jd from yale law school. Sarah is the legal director for the Human Rights Campaign where she served in a variety of roles since 2008. Before joining, she served as the Program Manager for the American Association and university of Women Foundation of legal advocacy funds. Shes also an affiliated professor at George Washington university and george mason law school.