MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry and her guests discussed what appears to be a blatant assault on women's rights. Perry described how Rep. Trent Franks, a Republican from Arizona, is promoting a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks in Washington, D.C. She pointed out that Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s delegate to Congress, who can serve on committees but can't vote, was "denied an opportunity to speak" for her own constituents on the House floor in opposition to Franks' proposal. Instead she had to respond through a statement on her website to combat his attack on Roe v. Wade:
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"I ask that it be included in the record of today's markup, particularly considering the denial of my request, as a congressional courtesy, to testify at the hearing about H.R. 3803, which would apply only to my constituents, including women who live in the District, as well as physicians and other healthcare professionals and hospitals in the District, but to no other Americans or jurisdictions. Some are debating whether House Republicans have been engaging in a "war on women" in our country. What is not debatable is the fixation of the Republican majority on depriving the women of the District of the reproductive rights that all other Americans enjoy. This bill, however, is another abuse of power and denial of democratic rights."
Watch Melissa Harris-Perry and her guests tackle this political subject below:
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