A somber anniversary

One year ago today, the right-wing extremists on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. This decision ripped reproductive health care from millions across the country.

In the one year since this decision, our country has read headline after headline about the reality of the far-right's war on women and the constitutional right to privacy.

Women denied the health care they need in emergency rooms, some even being left to die. Doctors worried about being charged for doing their job or forced to flee states that have made abortion care illegal. Women forced to travel to neighboring states to seek basic care. The list of horrors goes on and on.

When it comes to the Republicans and their war on women, the cruelty is the point.

The party that claims to be "pro-life" is the same party denying women lifesaving health care and forcing them to bring children into a country without access to affordable child care, paid leave, or basic resources for parents – especially working parents.

But I remain hopeful we can still make progress on this issue. Here's why: the vast majority of Americans support maintaining access to abortion. In fact, in the wake of Roe's repeal, we've seen some states step up to protect reproductive freedom with record support from voters.

We've also seen victories for the pro-choice movement in unexpected places. Take Kansas, for example, where voters successfully kept abortion legal in a deeply red state. Across the country, more than 27 abortion protections have been passed collectively by various states.

I'm proud to be from Oregon, where we have the strongest abortion protections in the nation, but there are women in America who are not as lucky and have or will soon have their reproductive freedom ripped away by far-right lawmakers.

It's past time that we codify abortion access at every level. But we can't do it without expanding our Democratic majority in the Senate. That means making our voices heard and electing unapologetically pro-choice leaders up and down the ballot.

This fight won't be easy, but together we can defeat Republican cruelty and obstructionism.

More soon,

Ron