Center Leader Testifies Before House Members on Reproductive Rights Post-Roe
Watch the replay of the April 27 hearing featuring Elisabeth Smith and other reproductive rights experts.

Elisabeth Smith (shown left), the Center’s Director of State Policy and Advocacy, testified April 27 alongside other reproductive rights experts at a shadow hearing organized by Representative Judy Chu (D-CA), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and the Democratic Women’s Caucus.
At the hearing, titled “Fighting for Bodily Autonomy: The State of a Post-Roe America,” panelists answered questions and shared information about the state of abortion rights 10 months after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right, clearing the way for states to severely restrict and ban abortion.
“The fall of Roe v. Wade has unleashed an escalating public health crisis while the resulting legal chaos further undermines people’s bodily autonomy and belief in rule of law principles,” Smith said in her testimony.
U.S. Senate Judiciary Hearing, 04.26.23
Plaintiff in Center’s Case Against Texas Testifies About the Assault on Reproductive Rights
Watch the replay of the hearing featuring Amanda Zurawski, who was denied abortion care in Texas and as a result, faced a life-threatening infection.
Smith discussed the legal landscape of abortion, including:
- The direct impact of criminalizing abortion on patient care;
- Current state legislation that would restrict abortion care and protect abortion;
- The unceasing national attacks on abortion access, despite anti-abortion advocates’ claim that abortion should be “left to the states to regulate.”

Speakers:
- Elisabeth Smith, Director of State Policy and Advocacy, Center for Reproductive Rights
- Dr. Kristyn Brandi, Chair, Physicians for Reproductive Health
- Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, CEO, Power to Decide
- Quita Tinsley Peterson, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Liberate Abortion Campaign
- Stephanie Loraine Pineiro, Executive Director, Florida Access Network
Event details:
- Title: Fighting for Bodily Autonomy: The State of a Post-Roe America
- Date: Thursday, April 27, 2023
- Time: 9:00 a.m. EST