i was a young teenager, 15 years old and i got pregnant. and my mother gave me all the options, she was so loving with me and she said, it s your decision, we ll talk about it, but it s nobody else s decision. i have a friend who knows a doctor in a back alley in mexico, juarez, and if you want to do this, if we decide this is what you want to do, i ll send you to her and she will take care of you. so, i decided at 15 that was the only option i had. so, i flew to el paso and she took me to an alley, i can still see the lights shining down, it was dark, it was about 10:00 at night, you know, this was it was traumatic for me, because this was my decision, and i never talked about it before, because as my mother said, that was my decision, nobody else s business, quite frankly. that was u.s. congresswoman
Community organizer at the texas equal access fund. and it s good to have you here with us, especially as we continue to have a great deal of debate about this right around the united states. i want to start by getting your reaction to the opinion, it is a draft opinion, not a ruling yet, but what s at stake if it stands? i mean, millions of people will be harmed if this actually becomes the law of the land, if roe v. wade is overturned and abortion is illegal. millions of people will be harmed by this decision. so, for me, and for lots of people, my initial reaction is shock and horror and disbelief and anxiety. nothing good. no good feelings. when you talk about the anxiety, it s important to really go through the experience in texas, right? a law passed last year, it means it s illegal for a woman to obtain an abortion after about
Sources tell cnn roberts did not want to completely overturn roe. it appears alito was joined in his majority by justices thomas, kavanaugh, gorsuch, and amy coney barrett. even though kavanaugh and gorsuch called ro ed roe the la the hand during their confirmation hearings. that s the law of the land, i accept the law of the land, senator, yes. senator susan collins, who voted in support of gorsuch and kavanaugh, said today in a statement the draft opinion was completely inconsistent with what justice gorsuch and justice kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office. president biden called the draft decision radical, and echoed concerns that this decision could serve as a template for limiting other individual rights previously recognized by the court, like same-sex marriage and access to contraception. if the rationale of the
Ruling that made abortion rights the law of the land. the author of the opinion,alito egregiously wrong. and that carries a lot of weight, as he and four other conservative justices now hold a majority on the supreme court. u.s. president joe biden, meantime, says a woman s right to an abortion is, quote, fundamental, and that the supreme court s decision, if it becomes official, could end up affecting all decisions in americans private lives. if this decision holds, it s really quite a radical decision. does this mean that in florida they can decide they re going to pass a law saying that same-sex marriage is not permissible? it s against the law in florida? so, there s a whole it s a fundamental shift in american jurisprudence.
Decision as released were to be sustained, a whole range of rights are in question. reporter: but in the wake of this draft opinion, democrats are vowing to fight to protect abortion rights. we ll go down as an abomi abomination. one of the worst, most damaging decisions in modern history. we could pass a law to protect every woman s right to an abortion and we should do that. if this turns out to be the opinion of the court and it s issued, it could have a major impact on the outcome of this election. reporter: republicans are condemning the leak itself. whoever committed this lawless act knew exactly what it could bring about. whoever did this leak should be prosecuted and should go to jail for a very long time. this has shaken the independence and the ability of the judiciary to function. reporter: paula reed, cnn, washington.