Statement by NOW President Christian F. Nunes on Anti-Abortion Bills
WASHINGTON–Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the new right-wing majority in the House put an all-out attack on abortion rights at the very top of their agenda, making it clear that a national abortion ban remains their goal. They fast-tracked just seven bills to cement their extremist agenda, and two were the anti-abortion bills that passed today.
NOW members know that the ‘born alive’ abortion bill and a second bill to prop up so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” are dangerous, unnecessary, and designed to deepen the control politicians seek to hold over women’s bodily autonomy.
These bills now go to the Senate, where they will not pass—thanks to the strengthened abortion-rights majority NOW members helped elect in 2022. But that’s only part of the new anti-abortion care agenda.
We’ll now see more legislation like this introduced in the states, while the House keeps passing more bills designed to get airtime on conservative media and checks from donors. There will be more hearings to air junk science claims and more votes to take away more rights, from abortion to marriage equality to voting.
We’re outraged by today’s votes, but not surprised. The new conservative majority is doing just what they said they’d do. But so do we. NOW’s brand of grassroots activism and our members’ unswerving commitment are being put to the test today—and we will prevail.
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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.