WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today is “Roe Day” –the 49th Anniversary of Roe v Wade. Will it make it to 50?
With an anti-abortion Supreme Court majority now firmly in place, we face the very real threat that women will be stripped of their constitutional right to abortion, especially with the Court about to rule on the direct challenge to Roe posed by the Mississippi abortion ban case.
Mississippi and Texas have launched a coordinated attack on women’s rights to bodily autonomy after passing draconian laws for no other purpose than to exert control over women. Twelve states have already passed similar laws designed to be “triggered” if Roe is overturned, and the Guttmacher Institute says 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion without Roe. Without question, these laws put women’s lives at risk– particularly the lives of women of color who are disproportionately more likely to need an abortion and face higher maternal mortality rates.
Protecting reproductive freedom for all is one of NOW’s founding principles and we are unwavering in our determination to defend abortion rights and protect Roe. We are calling on lawmakers to codify abortion rights by passing the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) in the U.S. Senate, and we are mobilizing in the states to defeat laws that impose medically unnecessary restrictions that endanger women.
This Roe Day, NOW recognizes that this is the most consequential year for abortion rights since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 and we refuse to let SCOTUS ignore nearly 50 years of precedence in defending women’s right to bodily autonomy. The decision over one’s reproductive life belongs to that individual, and that individual alone, and we will make the most of every hour of every day to protect, defend and strengthen abortion rights.
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The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the nation’s leading membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all aspects of social, political and economic life. Through educating, mobilizing, and convening a vast network of grassroots activists across the country, NOW advocates for national, state and local policies that promote an anti-racist and intersectional feminist agenda. Since its founding in 1966, NOW has been on the frontlines of nearly every major advancement for women’s rights and continues to champion progressive values today. More about NOW’s efforts and resources is available at NOW.org.