Congressman Al Green Condemns the Texas “Trigger Law” as a Draconian Denial of a Woman’s Right to Choose Bodily Autonomy and Self-Determination

(Houston, TX) — On Thursday, August 25, 2022, Congressman Al Green released the following statement:

“For far too long, too many men have stood at the sidelines of the fight to advance as well as protect the health, safety, and privacy of women; of their daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, and more. Male participation in the fight to protect a woman’s right to choose bodily autonomy and self-determination has to be more than passive observation. We cannot fight to defend a woman’s right to choose who she loves and simply disappear when her right to choose bodily autonomy and self-determination are being denied as a result of that choice.”

“Today, as Texas women are being stripped of their right to choose bodily autonomy and self-determination before our very eyes, we men must find the will to support them and help restore their constitutional right to choose. Women do not conceive on their own. Men play an active role in conception. As equal participants in the process of conception, it is therefore our responsibility to defend women against attacks on their right to choose bodily autonomy and self-determination, such as the draconian Texas “trigger law.” No law should determine what a woman who has been raped should choose do with her body. If a pregnancy puts a woman’s health in jeopardy, no law should prevent a woman from choosing her right to maintain her physical or mental health. A woman’s right to choose bodily autonomy and self-determination does not end with conception. A woman’s right to bodily autonomy and self-determination cannot be granted by the state. It must be protected by the state.”