Statement on the Leaked Draft Majority Opinion to Overturn Roe v. Wade

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2022
Contact: Tara Sweeney, [email protected]

Statement from Andrea Miller, President of the National Institute for Reproductive Health and NIRH Action Fund

“The draft majority U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that was leaked this evening is despicable and dangerous, and if the Court’s final majority opinion mirrors this one, represents several steps backwards for our nation. 

“This draft opinion shows that a majority of justices are willing to place anti-abortion zealotry and ideological fervor above the health, well-being, and bodily autonomy of people across this country. If the Court overturns Roe, then we know what will happen – nearly half the states will move to ban abortion, pushing abortion care out of reach for people across wide swaths of the country, especially the South and Midwest. These states will ban abortion despite the views and needs of their residents, the majority of whom support legal access to abortion care. 

“This opinion is a call-to-action to elected officials to protect access to abortion care in every way possible. We currently have 17 states and the District of Columbia that have enacted statutes that explicitly protect the right to abortion – eight of which have done so in the last three years. Now is the time to pick up the pace. So far this year, seven states have taken further action to protect abortion rights, expand the pool of medical practitioners who can provide abortion care, and fund abortion and the medical infrastructure to provide that care. 

“At NIRH and the NIRH Action Fund, we will double down on our efforts to protect and expand abortion access in every way we can, by fighting for equitable access to reproductive health care, including abortion care, at the state and local levels. NIRH played a key role working with partners in the eight states that protected abortion rights over the last three years, including being instrumental in passing the Reproductive Health Act in New York, which updated the state’s pro-Roe abortion laws, and helping bring abortion rights laws to fruition in states ranging from Colorado to Massachusetts, New Jersey to New Mexico. NIRH has also played a pivotal role in expanding coverage for abortion care and abortion funding initiatives, like the recent $15 million reproductive health fund in Oregon.”

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) is an advocacy group that builds coalitions, launches campaigns, and successfully advocate for policy change, working hand in hand works with state and local reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations and allied groups to protect and advance access to reproductive healthcare for more than 40 years, NIRH’s strategy is to go on the offensive and focus on communities where change is needed, so the fabric of reproductive freedom becomes harder to tear apart.