CNN’s Erica Hill to Elizabeth Warren: Why Are Democrats ‘Without a Plan’Amid Roe Leak

Last week, Politico reported on a Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe.

Hill quoted part of Warren’s piece in Marie Claire on Monday that “Republicans have planned long and hard for this day, and we can’t wait a second longer to fight back. We need action.”

“This has been coming, right? This has been abortion, Roe v. Wade has been a galvanizing rallying force for Republican voters for decades now,” said Hill. “Which leads me to my next question, which is, respectfully, senator, why do Democrats then appear to be so flatfooted in this moment without a plan?”

Warren replied:

Look. You preach to the choir. I have been raising this argument for a very long time. And the reason is because I lived in an America where abortion was illegal. I lived in an America where women died, bled to death because of back-alley abortions. I lived in an America where women were scarred for life because of the abortions they had. I lived in an America where young women took their lives rather than proceed with an abortion that they could not manage.

I understand those risks, and I think many people across America believed not just that Roe was right, but that it was enshrined in law. Look, how many nominees to the United States supreme court stood in front of the American people and said, it’s settled law? And so the people who supported Roe thought, reasonably, it’s always going to be protected.

But now? We have an extremist minority on the Supreme Court and they believe that they can dictate to the rest of America what happens to the bodies of women. And understand this, they don’t get the final word. The final word actually rests in Congress. So I think this is a galvanizing moment. I think this is a moment we have this vote today to get everybody on record, and then, we hold everybody accountable for those votes.

Warren’s remarks come ahead of a procedural vote on Wednesday of a bill that would codify Roe into law in addition to other measures. The vote is expected to fail as it would require 10 GOP senators to join all 50 Democrats in voting to proceed with the legislation – a possibility that is highly unlikely – to avoid a filibuster.