Join abortion advocates across the country this afternoon as we show our outrage and the collective voice of people. There will be mobilizations nationwide prepared as a rapid response to the decision. Visit https://map.wewontgoback.com to find a mobilization event near you.
The Supreme Court’s decision today in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which upholds Mississippi’s harmful 15-week ban on abortion, destroys the constitutional right to abortion in our country, a right that we have had for 50 years. This devastating decision will harm millions of people.
Abortion bans like Mississippi’s are part of the intertwined systems of oppression in this country that deny Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color access to their rights and are rooted in anti-Black racism, white supremacy, and other forms of discrimination.
This rollback by extremists on the Court is a direct result of Mitch McConnell stealing a Supreme Court Justice seat from President Obama by ignoring the appointment of Merrick Garland and seating Trump Justice Neil Gorsuch who said that Roe v. Wade was precedent in his confirmation hearing. Gorsuch voted to overturn Roe.
It is the direct result of Trump Justice Brett Kavanaugh who told senators that Roe was “settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court, entitled the respect under principles of stare decisis.” Kavanaugh voted to overturn Roe.
It is the direct result of Trump Justice Amy Coney Barrett whose rushed appointment belied Mitch McConnell’s rationale for blocking Garland’s nomination. Coney Barrett voted to overturn Roe.
Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor warn of today’s decision that “no one should be confident that this majority is done with its work,” citing several other linked precedents they would be willing to overturn, including Griswold (right to purchase and use contraception), Lawrence (right to same-sex intimacy), and Obergefell (right to same-sex marriage.)
Half the states in the U.S. will try to severely restrict or ban abortion—and soon. Even more people across the country will soon be forced to travel hundreds of miles out of state or carry pregnancies to term against their will, many at great risk to their health or life.
Let us remember that the right to abortions is still protected in some parts of our country. California Attorney General Rob Bonta today said that “in California, we refuse to turn back the clock and let politicians exert control over a person’s body. Despite the decision, abortion remains fully protected here in California. We’ll keep fighting to strengthen and expand access to safe and legal abortion. As Attorney General, I will use the full force of the law and the full authority of my office to protect reproductive healthcare for every person who seeks it in California. Abortion remains a legally protected right in our state.”
We are not defeated. We must keep fighting until every person, no matter where we live, how much money we make, or what we look like, has the freedom to make our own decisions about our health, our lives, and futures.
We must demand that Congress enshrine the right to abortion into federal law. Last year, the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify Roe and strike down insidious barriers to care, passed in the House, but not the Senate. Sign this Daily Kos petition now to demand action by your members of Congress: https://bit.ly/3HSyWNz