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Rubio To Propose Radical Attack on Women's Health Choices

Tallahassee, FL — Yesterday, the Weekly Standard reported that Marco Rubio will introduce a radical attack on women’s health care choices, banning abortions after 20 weeks.

This is the same proposal that has created an unprecedented uproar in Texas, with thousands of women protesting at the statehouse in Austin and state Senator Wendy Davis leading an 13-hour filibuster of the measure.

“The Supreme Court recognized a woman’s right to choose over 40 years ago, and Americans are tired of watching Marco Rubio and the GOP fight an ideological war to turn back the clock on women’s rights. Floridians are looking to Congress for action to strengthen our economy, but it’s clear that Republicans would rather pursue their extreme social agenda. Rubio’s attack shows contempt for women’s right to make this personal decision with their family and their physician,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Allison Tant.

Such a radical ban on abortions after 20 weeks directly challenges Roe v. Wade, and courts have halted these bans in Arizona, Georgia, and Idaho — in one case, calling the law “unconstitutional under an unbroken stream of Supreme Court authority.”

Rubio’s ban would drastically limit a woman’s ability to make crucial decisions about her family’s future. Crucial medial information about a pregnancy often emerges near the 20th week of pregnancy; Rubio’s ban would leave women with little time to make a difficult decision — or make it for them.

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Background

Rubio to Introduce Senate Bill to Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today agreed to be the lead sponsor of a Senate bill to ban abortion after an unborn child is 20 weeks old. A similar measure passed the House last month and a state version is now being debated in the Texas legislature, where it is likely to be approved. (Weekly Standard, 7/2/13)

The ban will jeopardize women’s health by severely curtailing physicians’ ability to treat patients who face serious health conditions.According to ACOG, many fetal abnormalities cannot be diagnosed until or near 20 weeks of pregnancy, and many health conditions for women do not become clear to the doctor or patient before 20 weeks. (Center for Reproductive Rights, 9/13/12)

Under controlling Supreme Court precedent, Arizona may not deprive a woman of choice. “The panel held that the twenty-week law is therefore unconstitutional under anunbroken stream of Supreme Court authority, beginning with Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), and ending with Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 (2007).” (Issacson et al., 5/21/2013)

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