House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., denounced Republicans seeking to protect the life and rights of the unborn in an open letter to Democrats Monday — claiming that the GOP wants to charge women with murder for getting an abortion.
She did not denounce last week's Supreme Court leak of a draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, or the exposing of personal information and the threatening of justices outside their homes — she even supported "righteous anger."
"With this draft ruling striking down the nearly 50-year-old precedent of Roe v. Wade and undermining the constitutional right to privacy, Republicans would rip away women's right to make the most intimate and personal decisions," Pelosi wrote to Democrat colleagues, which she also released publicly.
"If handed down, this decision by GOP-appointed justices would mean that, for the first time in our history, America's daughters will have less freedom than their mothers."
Pelosi's use of the phrase "rip away" is the same used by former President Donald Trump in denouncing Democrats defending late-term abortions, saying abortion activists want to support ripping away a baby from the womb.
"Last Monday, the nation saw a draft of a Supreme Court decision that sadly would overturn Roe v. Wade, an action which is the culmination of Republicans’ decades-long crusade against women’s fundamental freedoms," Pelosi's missive began.
The Supreme Court draft majority decision written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito would kick the handling of abortion law back to the states, where conservatives and Constitution law experts argue it belongs.
Still, it did not stop Pelosi from political hyperbole.
"Republicans have made clear that their goal will be to seek to criminalize abortion nationwide," she continued. "Republican state legislators across the country are already advancing extreme new laws, seeking to arrest doctors for offering reproductive care, ban abortion entirely with no exceptions, and even charge women with murder who exercise their right to choose.
"These draconian measures could even criminalize contraceptive care, in vitro fertilization, and post-miscarriage care, dragging our nation back to a dark time decades into the past."
Pelosi added claims those seeking to protect the life and rights of the unborn will make further moves against other human rights.
"Make no mistake: Once Republicans have dispensed with precedent and privacy in overturning Roe, they will take aim at additional basic human rights," she added. "At this pivotal moment, the stakes for women — and every American — could not be higher.
"It is urgent and essential that we remain disciplined and focused in sharing with the American people the dangers of the Republican agenda. While Republicans want to punish and control women for exercising their constitutional rights, Democrats believe that a woman's health decisions are her own — and we will fight relentlessly to enshrine Roe v. Wade as the law of the land."
House Democrats duly passed the Women's Health Protection Act last fall, which will be taken up by the Senate. Pelosi finished with an urging to pass that legislation that will constitutionally "codify" the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision of 1973.
Pelosi added a call for Democrats to use the issue of abortion as a 2022 November midterm election issue.
"We know we must carry forward this fight in the weeks and months ahead," she concluded. "Our proud pro-choice House majority must continue this fight in the public arena so that the American people know that their rights are on the ballot this November.
"While we have seen and heard extraordinary anguish in our communities, we have been moved by how so many have channeled their righteous anger into meaningful action: planning to march and mobilize to make their voices heard."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.