NARAL Pro-Choice America Condemns U.S. Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade - Reproductive Freedom for All

Formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America

Press Release

NARAL Pro-Choice America Condemns U.S. Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade

For Immediate Release: Friday, June 24, 2022

Contact: [email protected]

In the wake of the Court’s decision, roughly half of the states in the country are at risk of banning abortion

Washington, DC Today, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and ending the constitutional right to abortion in the United States as we know it. 

NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement in response:

“The Supreme Court made it clear: They are overturning Roe and Casey. This is the end of our constitutionally-protected right to abortion. The impact on the real lives of real people will be devastating. The Supreme Court has given the green light to extremist state lawmakers who will waste no time springing into action to put in place total bans on abortion. And they won’t stop there—the anti-choice movement and its political allies have already made it clear that they want to enact a nationwide ban on abortion. This decision is the worst-case scenario, but it is not the end of this fight. The 8 in 10 Americans who support the legal right to abortion will not let this stand. There is an election in November, and extremist politicians will learn: when you come for our rights, we come for your seats.”

**ADVISORY: NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju will be available to speak with press about this decision today, June 24, at 1:00 PM EST. In order to attend this event, press must RSVP at this link.** 

The Supreme Court’s decision in the Jackson Women’s Health case will have a sweeping and devastating impact. Now that Roe has been overturned, roughly half of the states in the country are at risk of banning abortion. Of those, 13 have “trigger bans” in place to ban abortion automatically. The people who will be hurt most by the Supreme Court’s decision are those who already face barriers to accessing abortion care—including women; Black, Indigenous, and other people of color; those working to make ends meet; the LGBTQ+ community; immigrants; young people; those living in rural communities; and people with disabilities.

Leading up to the Supreme Court’s decision and emboldened by the Court’s anti-choice supermajority, extremist state lawmakers doubled down on their attacks on reproductive freedom in an orchestrated effort to undermine our fundamental right to make our own decisions about abortion without political interference. Anti-choice lawmakers have already filed over 500 restrictions on abortion this year, including bans on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy, bans before most people know they are pregnant, bans modeled after Texas’ vigilante-enforced ban on abortion, total bans on abortion, and medically unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion care.

With the legal right to abortion in jeopardy in over half the states in this country and the Supreme Court’s decision making clear that we cannot rely on the courts to protect our fundamental rights, electing candidates who will fight for our freedom to decide is more urgent than ever. NARAL Pro-Choice America and our millions of members are already ramping up our work to elect candidates up and down the ballot who will take bold action to safeguard and expand abortion rights.

In May, NARAL, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and EMILY’s List announced a partnership to collectively spend a historic $150 million on the 2022 midterms to ensure the election of reproductive freedom champions up and down the ballot. The stakes are higher than ever, and NARAL’s members will be mobilizing from now until Election Day and beyond to ensure that our leaders reflect the values of the 8 in 10 Americans who support the legal right to abortion.

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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.