DWC in the News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Chairwoman Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) released the following statement slamming Republican support for abortion bans and warning of the devastating harm these bans have on women’s health and safety.

“Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old Texan who was diagnosed with preeclampsia, died after doctors were too afraid to treat her, fearing they would face life in prison for providing abortion care. Taysha Wilkinson-Sobieski, a mother from Indiana, died after not being able to seek care for an ectopic pregnancy.

Both of these women should be alive today. Their families are left grieving, and they are far from alone: they are just two of the many whose lives have been lost to sweeping abortion bans. Tierra and Taysha were victims of Republicans’ relentless attack on health care that continues to endanger women nationwide.

As states rush to enact sweeping abortion bans, pregnancy is becoming more dangerous. Maternal mortality rates in states like Texas are rising by more than 50%, and women in states with abortion bans are twice as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. Abortion bans also disproportionately impact women of color, who are significantly more likely to die during pregnancy compared to those who live in states where abortion care is legal and accessible.

The gut-wrenching stories of preventable loss and the data are clear: abortion bans kill women. Although Republicans in Congress see this as merely a policy difference, the DWC knows it is not. To the children who have lost their mothers, the husbands who have lost their wives, and the mothers who have lost their daughters, this is a matter of life and death.

Our members know personally what it is like to fear for your life during pregnancy and will always fight to protect and expand reproductive healthcare. A woman’s healthcare should be decided at the doctor’s office, not in the halls of Congress. The DWC is committed to enacting policies that protect every woman’s access to quality, affordable healthcare and the freedom to make her own reproductive choices.”