Kamlager-Dove Delivers Remarks Two Years After Dobbs Decision
LOS ANGELES, CA — Today, on the two year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health ruling, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) delivered remarks at the Women's March Foundation's Los Angeles Walk-Out For Women alongside U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Bacerra, Senator Alex Padilla (CA), Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), and local reproductive rights advocates. A transcript of the Congresswoman's remarks as delivered can be found below:
"Hello everyone, I am Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove. I represent the 37th Congressional District, and I have to tell you: this is not an anniversary that we celebrate, this is an anniversary that we activate—because we can’t go back.
"As a result of the Dobbs decision, one in three women now live in a state where there is some form of a ban or a restriction on their access to abortion care, on their access to healthcare. We know that in 2023, almost 180,000 abortions happened in California—that’s a 20% increase from 2019—because of Dobbs. We also know that in states across this country, patients, providers, and partners are being criminalized. Doctors are having to check on the liability of their decision rather than the oath that they took to deliver health care access to their patients. Yes, we live in California. Yes, California is a leader when it comes to reproductive and abortion rights. Thank you, thank you. Aren’t you glad you live in California?
"But this is a national issue, and if you don’t believe me, read Project 2025. It is a national issue because Republicans want a national abortion ban. Because Republicans want a national ban or a restriction on fertility treatments, including IVF. Because Republicans are talking out of all sides of their mouth, and they are not telling the truth. Because Republicans are interested in a national squeeze on states across this country to prevent women from having the health care access they need.
"I am telling you, we won’t go back, because we can’t go back. Health care is a right. Reproductive health care is a right. And women have a right—we have the right—to make decisions about our bodies. I am in this fight, you are in this fight, we must stay in this fight. Because no government, no government should dictate the reproductive future of our daughters and our sons. This is a fight for justice, this is a fight for democracy, and this is a fight for health care for all.
"So, what are we going to do? We’re going to keep fighting because we won’t go back! We won’t go back! We won’t go back!"