Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith ‘angry and alarmed’ over ‘devastating’ decision by ‘extremist’ Supreme Court

The senators listed reforms to 'restore our democracy' in the wake of the Supreme Court's abortion ruling

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., co-authored an op-ed Saturday for the New York Times to voice their outrage over the end of Roe v. Wade while calling for policies their party pushed for years.

The article followed the overturning of the 1973 abortion decision by the Supreme Court on Friday, which the senators roundly condemned as "extremist."

"With its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, an extremist Supreme Court has overturned nearly 50 years of precedent, stripping away the constitutional right to an abortion and ruling that the government — not the person who is pregnant — will make the critical decision about whether to continue a pregnancy," they wrote.

Warren and Smith remarked that several states have already worked to ban abortion and a dozen more are already enacting more restrictions following the decision.

NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED LAYS OUT PLAN TO ‘DISCIPLINE’ SUPREME COURT IN RESPONSE TO ROE V WADE DECISION 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

"If we sound angry and alarmed, that’s because we are. This decision is devastating — and we have seen what happens next. We both lived in an America where abortion was illegal. A nation in which infections and other complications destroyed lives. A nation in which unplanned pregnancies derailed careers and livelihoods. A nation in which some women took their own lives rather than continue pregnancies they could not bear," The New York Times article read.

They called on elected officials, business and everyday people to help make abortion cheaper and more accessible across the country during this "perilous time that threatens millions of women," while urging President Biden to "declare a public health emergency to protect abortion access for all Americans."

Blaming "right-wing politicians and their allies [who] have spent decades scheming," they recounted alleged crimes by "extremists" that brought the country to "this dark moment," including, "Abusing the filibuster and turning Congress into a broken institution," as well as "Stealing two seats on the Supreme Court."

The Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

To counter the ruling, they reiterated Warren's past suggestions for Democrats in Congress as well as President Joe Biden to pack the Supreme Court, eliminate the filibuster and transform the Electoral College.

"In order to fix the damage Republicans have done to our system in their efforts to control women’s lives, we need broad democracy reform: changing the composition of the courts, reforming Senate rules like the filibuster, and even fixing the outdated Electoral College that allowed presidential candidates who lost the popular vote to take office and nominate five of the justices who agreed to end the right to an abortion," Warren and Smith wrote. 

AOC WONDERS IF PRO-LIFE DEMOCRATS SHOULD CONTINUE TO SERVE: ‘WE REALLY NEED TO REASSESS’ 

On Thursday, Smith introduced a new bill to codify the right to access abortion drugs in states where abortion could be outlawed. Although Democrats have previously pushed efforts to codify Roe v. Wade into law, the most recent bill in May failed to pass the Senate. 

Pro-choice activists march in New York City protesting the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Roe vs. Wade. (Peter Gerber/Fox News Digital)

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They closed, "Simply put: We must restore our democracy so that a radical minority can no longer drown out the will of the people. This will be a long, hard fight, and the path to victory is not yet certain. But it’s a righteous fight that we must win — no matter how long it takes. The two of us lived in an America without Roe, and we are not going back. Not now. Not ever."

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