Norton Highlights Unique Risks to Reproductive Rights of D.C. Women in Oversight Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a Committee on Oversight and Reform (COR) hearing today, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) highlighted how uniquely vulnerable the reproductive rights of women are in the nation's capital because Congress has control over the District of Columbia's local affairs. Currently, Congress prohibits D.C. from spending its local funds on abortion services for low-income women, even though 15 states use their own funds for this purpose. Norton warned that a Republican Congress could establish a Texas-style abortion bounty system in D.C., or, if Roe v. Wade were overturned, ban abortion in D.C.

"For nearly 50 years, the Supreme Court has upheld the right to abortion care," Norton said. "But the Center for Reproductive Rights estimates that if Roe v. Wade were to fall, 24 states would likely take action to ban abortion. This includes 11 states where so-called ‘trigger bans' have been enacted, meaning that abortion would be immediately outlawed if Roe is overturned by the Supreme Court. Because D.C. is not yet a state, Congress has control over its affairs, and women in D.C. remain particularly vulnerable should a Republican Congress decide to make reproductive health care even more difficult for them to obtain. While I continue to fight for statehood for the nation's capital, I also remain committed to keeping vital freedoms for D.C. women."

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