'Have we lost it?': Jackie Speier rips House Republican for flashing cash during abortion rights bill debate

15 July 2022

United States Congressman Brian Mast (R-Florida) on Friday attempted to coerce Democrats in the House of Representatives into validating right-wing talking points about abortion by flashing cold, hard cash.

Mast performed his stunt during a floor debate over House Resolution 8297, which if it passes would protect the right to interstate travel to get an abortion.

"I got a $20 bill here. It's not worth as much as it used to be worth. I'll put it down here on the table. Any one of you or your colleagues wants to speak up and tell us when life begins, it's sitting here for you," Mast boasted.

Mast's theatrics left Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-California) nearly speechless.

"Uh... it gets more painful every single day. When you think about, you've got an [attorney general] in Indiana who has smeared a healthcare professional in that state who did exactly what she was supposed to do in providing an abortion to a ten-year-old. But he [Todd Rokita] was gonna bring charges against her. We have a colleague on the other side of the aisle who is now putting down $20 bills as if we're gonna race over there to get that $20 bill to answer his question," Speier said in response.

"I mean, what are we doing here?! Have we lost it?" she exclaimed. "This bill simply codifies what is interpreted in the Constitution in the 5th Amendment. Now, we have a [Supreme Court] Justice, [Brett] Kavanaugh, who said, was asked the question, 'may a state bar a resident of the state from traveling to another state? The answer is no.' But interestingly enough, the right to travel – those words – are not in the 5th Amendment. So if we have an originalist Court, we do have to pass this bill."

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