News - October 6, 2021 - by Ray Hagar
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nv., is back in the fight for abortion rights in the U.S. Senate as abortion opponents see an opportunity for the conservative-leaning Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 decision that protects a woman's liberty to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.
"It comes down to this: Women have the right to have control over their bodies and who makes those choices for them," Rosen said on Nevada Newsmakers. "So that is what we are going to continue to fight for. That is what we will continue to uphold. It has been the law of the land since the 1970s and we are going to fight to do everything we can to keep it that way."
Abortion opponents see an opportunity for the conservative-leaning high court to overturn Roe v. Wade. Restrictive abortion laws recently passed in Texas and Mississippi may end up in the Supreme Court, observers have said. Former President Donald Trump's three appointments have given a conservative lean to the high court.
Rosen, however, said abortion law in the U.S. "is settled law."
"It has been part of our country for so many years," she said. "Young women, (other) women count on having control over their reproductive rights, to have control over their body as it related to their reproductive freedom."
Rosen was then asked by host Sam Shad asked if she saw the irony that many anti-abortion proponents are also "anti-vaxxers."
They can be defined as those who oppose government or commercial vaccine and mask mandates to fight the covid pandemic, citing "personal freedom." Yet when it comes to abortion, some may want a government mandate to stop or limit the personal freedom of women when it comes to reproductive rights.
"What I do want to say to this is: "When (anti-vax) people say, 'My body, my choice,' maybe they do understand how that feels to have somebody speak about you in ways that you my not agree," Rosen said.
Rosen also threw shade at the notion the two issues are equal.
"One is a public health issue, a public safety issue and one is a personal issue, just leave it at that," she said.
"Now I would argue that the vaccinations are a public health issue, Rosen said. "And in the course of maybe the past 100 years, or for many years in the past century, we have had vaccines for so many things: Polio, small pox, mumps, measles, rubella, chicken pox.
"So we are used to vaccines in this country," Rosen added. "They've been safe and effective. And of course, the vaccine for covid, is safe, it is effective, it is free and it is the best way for us to get through this pandemic, so we can get on with our lives again and the country can begin to thrive again. We have so many things to work on, and so many things to look forward to that I think that is the best way out of this."
In another issue, Rosen said she is against the termination of Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, even though some Democratic colleagues want her fired after she rejected two Democratic attempts to include a pathway to legalization for immigrants in bills that could be passed with just Democratic support.
"I think you have to look at somebody's overall service to their country," Rosen said. "I think you have to look at someone in their entirety before making that decision and so that is how I am looking at her. I guess we'll continue see how she preforms her job and what we think about that. But I think people have tried to look at her service as a whole and not just one issue in particular.
"The role of parliamentarian is really important and I know her and I believe she is doing what she believes is the right thing for her job," Rosen said. "It doesn't mean that I am any less disappointed in how she rules."
Rosen, however, stressed the fight for immigration reform is not over.
"This (immigration reform) is top of mind," Rosen said. "It is ongoing. It is a humanitarian crisis. But we must secure our border. Have a pathway (to legal status). I think both sides of the aisle agree on that. We have to do the hard thing which is get together and work on it."
