NIRH Condemns U.S. Supreme Court Decision Failing to Protect Women’s Access to Medically Accurate Information and Health Care

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2018
Contact: Katherine Schneider
E: [email protected]
C: (949) 929-7245

Ruling Comes As the Justices Complete a Term Characterized by Rollbacks of Rights and Outright Harm to Marginalized Communities

The following is a statement from the National Institute for Reproductive Health President Andrea Miller

New York – The U.S. Supreme Court today announced its troubling decision in NIFLA v. Becerra, allowing fake women’s health centers or “crisis pregnancy centers” to continue their practices of deceiving women who seek abortions. The High Court ruled against the California FACT Act, which had aimed to stop fake women’s health centers from spreading misinformation by requiring these clinics to disclose the truth: that they frequently have no licensed medical staff and that women can and should look elsewhere if they are seeking accurate information about their full range of choices and access to timely medical care, including abortion

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today completely disregards the realities facing women seeking access to legitimate medical care, including reproductive health services. Deception is at the core of fake women’s health centers and all that they do, and this ruling turns a blind eye to the harm these manipulative clinics inflict on women. It is also a powerful reminder that we have a closely divided High Court, and one vote – newly appointed Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch – tipped the balance against women, leaving us one vote closer to losing our reproductive rights entirely.”

“NIRH will continue our work with advocates in cities and states across the country to mitigate the damage from fake clinics, from preventing them from deceiving women in our communities to expanding women’s access to care.

“Today’s decision punctuates a deeply disturbing Supreme Court term trampling on the rights of marginalized communities at every turn: from equal representation in the electoral process, to rightful participation in our democracy, to protections for people seeking a better life in this country.  In the face of continuing attacks from the Trump-Pence administration and the Supreme Court on women, LGBTQ communities, migrants and refugees, and people of color, the National Institute for Reproductive Health and our partners in cities and states across the country will continue to fight for equality, dignity, justice for all people.”

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) builds power at the state and local levels to change public policy, galvanize public support, and normalize women’s decisions about abortion and contraception.