The following statement can be attributed Kierra Johnson, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force:
“Today, the Supreme Court issued a devastating ruling in Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs — a huge setback to our long-standing fundamental right to bodily autonomy. This decision by the conservative majority on the bench also marks the beginning of the vital work to re-establish our constitutional foundation for reproductive justice and freedom. We must redouble our work to protect access to abortion and reproductive justice at the state and national levels. We will never give up.
It is disturbing and dangerous that the Court overturned the key precedents of Roe v. Wade and Casey. Doing so allows tremendous overreach and intrusion by the government into our most personal decisions and freedoms — on an issue that was settled five decades ago. This ruling is rooted in sexism and misogyny. It denies equality before the law and restricts the right of anyone who needs abortion care in order to make their own decisions about their own lives.
In overturning Roe and Casey, the Court has upended a fundamental constitutional right that has overwhelming public support and has made access to abortion and reproductive health possible for nearly half a century. This decision alarms anyone who cares about individual rights. We must push back now — on all state and federal lawmakers and courts — to fight for abortion access and reproductive choice, the right for transgender people to access life-saving healthcare, the right to bodily autonomy, and the right to sexual freedom. These are our most basic liberties — to live a life of dignity, private from government interference. The Court has no place interfering with our constitutional right to make decisions about our own bodies.
This is about equality, equity, and the rule of law. The unprecedented decision to take away a fundamental constitutional right recognized by the Supreme Court 50 years ago sets back civil rights by decades. We cannot allow this decision to take this country back to a time when lives were destroyed or lost because individuals lived in a state without access to legal, decent reproductive healthcare.
Finally, we know this: bans on abortion are deeply racist and profoundly sexist — the harshest impacts always fall on Black and Brown women and pregnant people and our families and communities. This decision will impact these communities the most, and it is these lives that will be forever harmed by the loss of these fundamental rights.”
CONTACT:
Cathy Renna, Communications Director, National LGBTQ Task Force, 917-757-6123, [email protected]
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice, and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we have made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. Those barriers must go.