Progressive Caucus Action Fund Celebrates Supreme Court Ruling, Calls for Congress to Pass the Women’s Health Protection Act
Washington, D.C. — Today, Liz Watson, Executive Director of the Progressive Caucus Action Fund released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the right to abortion in Louisiana in the June Medical Services vs. Russo case:
“Today, the Supreme Court rejected extremist efforts to undermine reproductive rights and essentially end access to abortion in Lousiana. This case was not about protecting anyone’s health or safety: it was a barely disguised effort to close abortion clinics and keep people from accessing safe and legal essential health services. We are grateful to the Hope Medical Group for Women and the advocates in Louisiana who made this victory possible, especially the Black-led organizations that have led the fight for reproductive justice from the beginning and who continue to lead in the face of racist violence, surveillance, real threats to their safety and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision if, when, and how to become a parent is one of the most important choices many of us make. For decades, far-right groups and politicians have tried to demonize people who seek abortion care, eliminate access to health care providers, restrict and outright ban abortion, even as they attack access to contraception, sex education, and policies that help parents and children thrive. Everyone should have accessible, affordable, safe and compassionate reproductive health care no matter where they live, how much they earn or who they are.
The Supreme Court’s decision staves off disaster for the people of Louisiana, but we know that too many people, especially Black and Brown people and people living in poverty, already can’t get the reproductive health care they need and deserve. In the last decade, right-wing extremists have passed more than 450 restrictions on abortion care nationwide. It’s time to stand up against these efforts to chip away at our rights. We call on Congress to immediately pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, a law that would provide a federal safeguard against abortion bans and restrictions and help ensure that everyone can access the constitutionally protected right to abortion care no matter where they live.”
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