Rep. Ayanna Pressley claims that abortion prohibitions are 'rooted in patriarchy and white supremacy'

Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts said during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Thursday that abortion bans are grounded "in patriarchy and white supremacy."

She decried a Texas law that took effect this month that prohibits conducting abortions after a fetal heartbeat has been detected, except in the case of a medical emergency. The legislation allows people to lodge a civil action against those who fail to comply with the law, and stipulates that if the claimant prevails the court should award statutory damages of at least $10,000 per violation.

"We find ourselves in the midst of an unprecedented wave of coordinated attacks on our reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy. And Texas's horrendous and extreme SB 8 abortion ban underscores the urgency of this moment. The year 2021 has been the most devastating for abortion rights in American history," Pressley said.

She said that "anti-abortion legislators in 47 states focused on legislating hurt and harm to push this critical healthcare out of reach. These misguided bans will not actually prevent all abortions. They simply put safe and necessary abortion care out of reach for our most vulnerable, specifically our lowest income sisters, our queer, trans and non-binary siblings, black, Latinx, AAPI, immigrants, disabled and ... indigenous folks. And none of this is happenstance. It is precise. Like the roots of the anti-abortion movement, these bans are rooted in patriarchy and white supremacy," she claimed.

Senior writer at RealClearInvestigations Mark Hemingway commented on the congresswoman's remarks, saying that abortion stems from the progressive eugenics movement, which did pertain to white supremacy.

"In actual fact, abortion has its roots in the progressive eugenics movement of the early 20th century -- and *that* was all about white supremacy," Hemingway tweeted.

Townhall's Guy Benson tweeted, "woke bingo — ending human lives for 'equity' edition."

"Everybody understand this is all insanity. It's insanity," tweeted Washington Examiner columnist Tim Carney.

"I wish there was some way to avoid getting pregnant :(" Blaze Media social media editor Jessica O'Donnell tweeted.