WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Democratic lawmakers are shining a spotlight on reproductive rights ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Thursday night.

“Everyone here in America needs to understand what is at stake and the horror stories that are happening right now,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said during a press conference Thursday.

Democrats in both the House and Senate are inviting guests to Biden’s address that range from those who have been impacted by abortion bans, to OB-GYNs, abortion providers and those seeking fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization.

“These women who are joining us today for the State of the Union are patriots and they have traveled to our nation’s capital to share their stories, make their voices heard,” House Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said during remarks outside the Capitol Thursday.

The decision from Democrats to make reproductive health care a focus comes after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of 2022. Since then, it has been left up to states to enact their own abortion laws. This includes a recent ruling by Alabama’s Supreme Court, which determined frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, impacting women’s access to IVF.

“At this point, now that the first domino has fallen, it seems like it could only be a matter of time before more extremists succeed in enacting even more dystopian policies nationwide that takeaway women’s access to even the most basic reproductive care,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said.

The White House is also making reproductive rights a focus on Thursday night.  First lady Dr. Jill Biden invited Kate Cox as one of her guests. Cox is a Texas woman who was denied an emergency abortion by the state’s Supreme Court last year despite her fetus having a fatal condition and her health being in danger.