Schatz, Senate Democrats Highlight Abortion Rights at State of the Union
Washington, D.C. – With their invited guests to President Biden’s State of the Union Address, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Senate Democrats are continuing to call attention to the dangers of abortion bans passed in states across the country. Senate Democrats’ State of the Union guests include women who were forced to travel out of state to receive lifesaving abortion care due to abortion bans, abortion clinic directors, providers, and moms who relied on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to start their families. Senate Democrats are laser-focused on restoring Roe and the right to abortion nationwide and will continue taking the case directly to the American people, who overwhelmingly support abortion rights. In addition to Schatz, senators inviting guests with stories related to reproductive rights are Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
Right now, 21 states ban abortion or restrict the procedure earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe v. Wade—including 14 states that enforce total bans on abortion care. Approximately 1 in 3 women of reproductive age now live in a state with an abortion ban. Maternal health care has suffered tremendously in states that have banned or restricted abortion care and made it harder to attract new OBGYNs to the field, and the Dobbs decision greatly exacerbated America’s existing maternal mortality crisis as maternal and infant death rates are higher in states that ban or restrict abortion. A report from the Gender Equity Policy Institute found that women in states with abortion bans are nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy, childbirth or soon after giving birth.
Read more on the women, providers, and other guests with reproductive rights stories Senators have invited to State of the Union:
Senator Schatz invited Olivia Manayan, MD MPH, an OB-GYN chief resident at the University of Hawai‘i who will next year begin her specialization in complex family planning – focusing on abortion training, complex contraception, and reproductive justice.
“With reproductive rights under attack by the far-right across the country, OB-GYNs practicing in Republican-controlled states are being criminalized just for providing basic health care,” said Senator Schatz. “I’m proud to have Dr. Manayan join me for the State of the Union to highlight the live-saving care doctors like her provide to women and families every day.”
“I’m honored to join Senator Brian Schatz at this year’s State of the Union. While we are lucky to have strong abortion rights protections in Hawai‘i, the attacks on reproductive health, in addition to violating every pregnant capable person’s right to bodily autonomy, will impact our ability to deliver care, including access to safe medications like mifepristone,” said Dr. Olivia Manayan, Senator Schatz’s guest. “Abortion is healthcare, and healthcare is a fundamental human right. I’m proud to stand with Senator Schatz and represent OB-GYN providers in Hawai‘i and across the country.”
Senator Murray, a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care, invited Kayla Smith as her guest to the State of the Union. Kayla was living in Idaho in 2022—married, with a two-year old and pregnant again—when at 19 weeks, she went in for a routine ultrasound scan and learned that her baby had serious and fatal fetal anomalies. Worried for her health should she continue the pregnancy, and unable to receive care under Idaho’s draconian abortion bans, Kayla and her husband traveled to Seattle, Washington to get an early induction of labor in Seattle. The trip cost thousands of dollars, requiring them to take out a personal loan. In 2023, Kayla and her family left Idaho and moved to Washington state, where they now reside—in large part because they wanted to grow their family in a state where basic reproductive health care was legal and protected.
“Kayla Smith knows better than anyone the cruelty of Republicans’ anti-abortion agenda, and the chaos and anguish Republicans are creating for families in states where abortion is banned—because she’s lived it,” said Senator Murray. “We have to speak up at every opportunity and continue doing everything in our power to shine a light on the horrific consequences of Republican abortion bans that have ripped away a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions. Everyone in America needs to know what happened to Kayla—and they need to understand that what happened to her in Idaho could happen to any woman in any state if Republicans succeed in passing their national abortion ban, which Donald Trump has made clear he supports. Kayla’s bravery in coming forward to speak out and tell her story—while at the same time fighting Idaho’s abortion ban—is inspiring, and I look forward to having her by my side at the State of the Union Address.”
“When I was 18 weeks pregnant with my second child, the anatomy scan revealed our son Brooks had several fatal fetal anomalies. With Roe overturned and Idaho’s trigger law going into effect just days before finding out about our son’s condition, we were forced to seek help outside of Idaho,” said Kayla Smith, Senator Murray’s guest. “I grew up in Washington and felt safest coming back to get care here. My husband and I have since welcomed another little girl into our family and now currently reside in Washington. We felt strongly about raising our girls in a state where they would have bodily autonomy. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to sit alongside Senator Murray at the State of the Union address and continue to share not only my story, but the story of so many other women who have unfortunately been forced to flee their home state for abortion care.”
Leader Schumer invited Kate Farley. Kate was ultimately diagnosed with a rare chromosomal issue that prevents about 80 percent of the embryos she produces from developing into a baby. Kate's doctors told her that without medical assistance, she would continue to have miscarriages, unless she beat the odds and produced an embryo with all the needed DNA that successfully implanted and started to develop. They recommended IVF, which would allow them to test the embryos to find one that had a complete set of chromosomes and then transfer that into her uterus. Kate underwent this IVF treatment and had her son in April 2021. She is now pregnant with a daughter due later this month. Without IVF, Kate and her husband might never have had children, and would have endured years of emotionally and physically painful miscarriages in their attempts. They are eternally grateful to the amazing scientists and medical professionals who have dedicated their lives to helping people like Kate have children.
“In world created by the MAGA Republican Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe, women and families are living in fear that the Republican’s anti-reproductive, anti-freedom agenda is taking this freedom away. I’m honored to bring Kate Farley, soon-to be second time mom thanks to the wonderful reality of in vitro fertilization, as my guest to President Biden’s State of the Union address,” said Leader Schumer. “There are countless people today who have the joy of children solely because of IVF and comprehensive reproductive healthcare, and no American trying to get pregnant should have to live in fear that their access to becoming a parent through IVF could be taken away, or worry their fundamental rights could disappear tomorrow. I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Kate, and I will always fight to ensure New Yorkers and Americans have reproductive healthcare.”
Senate Democrats made clear at the outset of this Congress that they are continuing to fight to protect every American’s reproductive rights and will be a firewall against Republicans’ continued attacks on women’s rights. Senate Democrats have introduced more than a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; importantly, Senate Democrats are fighting to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore the right to abortion nationwide.
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