(WASHINGTON, DC –December 1, 2021) – The following is a statement from Kierra Johnson, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force:
“Reports and analysis coming out of today’s Supreme Court hearing on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization are extremely disturbing and represent a threat to our individual constitutional rights to privacy and autonomy. There is no ‘middle ground’ on what the Constitution guarantees and what was decided decades ago with the Roe v Wade decision.
This is about liberty, equality, and the rule of law, not the political or partisan views of those sitting on the bench. The unprecedented decision to remove a constitutional right recognized by the Supreme Court 50 years ago would set back civil rights by decades. They cannot take this country back to a time when lives were destroyed or lost because women lived in a state without access to reproductive healthcare or bodily autonomy.
Abortion access is essential, and a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution. Bans on abortion are deeply racist and profoundly sexist – the harshest impacts fall on Black and Brown women and pregnant people and on our families and communities.
If you think this decision will not affect you, think again: a wrong decision by the Supreme Court means you, too, will lose your bodily autonomy, your ability to own your own personal and community power. This is not just about abortion; it is about controlling bodies based on someone else determining your worthiness. This is a racial justice issue. This is a women’s issue. It is an LGBTQ issue. It is a civil rights issue. These are our fundamental rights that are at stake.
On World AIDS Day, when we honor and remember those lost in a pandemic that was too often politicized, resulted in the unnecessary and painful loss of countless lives and that continues to take the lives of those most marginalized, today’s events have shown us we need to redouble our efforts to combat the erosion of privacy and liberty for all.“