Washington, D.C. - On Thursday, Rep. Cori Bush recounted the time she was raped as a teenager at church camp, became pregnant, and chose to have an abortion.

The Missouri Democrat's statements were made during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Thursday, which was called to examine the imminent threat to abortion rights and access by the US Supreme Court and various state governments, such as Texas.

Rep. Bush was one of four congresswomen testifying about deeply personal connections during a tense House Oversight and Reform hearing about state restrictions on abortion in light of a new Texas law banning almost all procedures after the six-week mark of pregnancy.

"Today, I sit before you as that nurse, and as a pastor, activist, survivor, single mom, and congresswoman to testify that in the summer of 1994, I was raped, became pregnant, and chose to have an abortion," Bush said. "I knew it was a decision I needed to make for myself, so I did."

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Joining Bush was Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who first spoke publicly about her abortion in 2019. On Thursday, she was candid about its significance in her life.

"For me, terminating my pregnancy was not an easy choice, but it was my choice. And that is what must be preserved, for every pregnant person," Jayapal said.

Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chair Barbara Lee also spoke about her experience having a "back-alley" abortion as a teenager in the mid-1960s.

"My personal experience shaped my beliefs to fight for people's reproductive freedom," she said.

Rep. Kat Cammack – speaking as the child of someone who greatly considered an abortion but ultimately decided not to have one – provided a much different perspective in her testimony.

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"I would not be here were it not for the very brave choice my mother made 33 years ago," Cammack said. "Because of her strength, she chose life. That wasn’t an easy decision for a single mom, a working-class mom."

The House Oversight and Reform hearing came a day after the Senate Judiciary Committee held a similar hearing on the legal ramifications of the controversial Texas law.

Republicans criticized the hearing and questioned the committee’s jurisdiction over state laws. GOP lawmakers also defended states’ rights to pass their own restrictions.

"What the hell is going on here today? We don't have oversight over state abortion rights. This is not the purpose of this committee," said Rep. Nancy Mace.

Rep. Virginia Foxx called it a "solemn duty" to oppose the expansion of abortion.

"Instead of glorifying this awful act of desperation, we ought to grieve for the tens of millions of Americans who never have a chance to take their first breath," she said. "We live in a society that mistakes choice for liberty and denies the dignity of unborn life."

At the hearing, Democrats spoke in favor of two bills that would expand abortion rights.

The first is a House-passed bill by Rep. Judy Chu that would expand abortion protections for providers and patients, limiting state-level restrictions. The Senate placed the bill on its calendar Wednesday.

The second bill would require federal health care programs to cover abortion costs and require access to abortion in federal health facilities.

It would also allow qualified health insurance plans to use premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies to cover abortion-related costs.