Gillibrand on ‘Extreme’ Abortion Laws: Codify Roe v. Wade in Federal Law, Ditch Hyde Amendment

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) wants to eliminate all restrictions on abortion, including passing a federal law to ensure the procedure is available on demand across the country and that taxpayers foot the bill for abortions paid for through Medicaid.

“I think President Trump and these very extreme Republican legislators around the country, they are taking this country in a direction that it does not want to go,” Gillibrand told NPR in an interview published on Thursday. “I believe that if President Trump wants a war with America’s women, it’s a war he will have and it is one he will lose.”

NPR reports that Gillibrand’s “years of public service” has focused on “equality and reproductive rights.”

“I will only appoint judges and justices that see Roe v. Wade as settled precedent,” Gillibrand said. “I will codify Roe v. Wade legislatively. I will look to remove the Hyde Amendment, which is the law that prohibits federal money paying for abortion services in a full range of health care, particularly for poor low-income women.”

“I will also make sure and guarantee that no matter what state you live in, you will have a right to access full reproductive services, including abortion services,” Gillibrand said.

Gillibrand also said the Democrat Party has not lurched to the left, especially since the 2018 mid-term elections.

“I think there’s a perception [of a shift], but I think the truth is certainly the party that I’ve been part of has been working on a lot of these issues for a very long time,” Gillibrand said. “But some things the way they’re talked about seem new and seem more radical. And I don’t think that’s the case.”

She cited the Green New Deal, which would transform the nation’s economy and infrastructure and install socialism across the country through universal health care, guaranteed income, and other federal programs.

Gillibrand called the Green New Deal a “platform” and compared it to President John F. Kennedy’s plan for a mission to the moon.

Follow Penny Starr on Twitter