John,
In a matter of days, a conservative federal judge in Texas could ban nationwide access to mifepristone, a common and widely used abortion pill. This would be one of the biggest blows to abortion access since the Dobbs ruling last year.1 Here’s what you need to know.
Medication abortion is safe and effective. Mifepristone is not new. It has been approved by the FDA for use in the United States since 2000, more than 20 years ago. Now a right-wing organization called Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine is using the courts to push for a national backdoor ban on the crucial medication.2 Any effort to ban abortion medication is an attempt to drive fear into our communities and create yet another obstacle that our people must overcome before accessing care.
John, This is not about safety; it never has been. They’re playing politics with our lives. But your state and local officials still hold the power to decide when an abortion is permitted and they can remove the potential for an abortion, or any other pregnancy outcome, to result in a prison sentence.
Tell your da Abortion is essential
We no longer will allow fear-baiting to impede our reproductive freedoms.
After the reversal of Roe, many people were afraid of the unimaginable consequences. We all experienced grief and sorrow as we watched critical rights being stripped away.
In January 2023, we saw the FDA make mifepristone available for retail in pharmacies.3 This was a huge victory because it allowed anyone to access abortion medication in the same places where they get other prescriptions. That’s why now, more than ever, we need lawmakers to know that access to safe and legal abortions saves the lives of Black folks daily. The time is now. We have to take family planning into our own hands and work to ensure people have access to safe and legal health care. build
We can’t stop fighting now. Can we count on you, John?
FIGHT BACK FOR BODILY AUTONOMY. SIGN HERE.
Right now, three women are being sued by a man in Galveston Texas, who accused them of murder and wrongful death conspiracy for helping his pregnant ex-wife obtain mifepristone.4 Passed in 2021, Texas Senate Bill 8 grants private citizens the right to sue anyone assumed to have helped a person obtain an abortion in Texas for tens of thousands of dollars.5 This kind of aggressive strategy further stigmatizes safe and legal procedures by tacking on punitive responses to abortion access. This also puts people’s lives, livelihoods, and freedom in jeopardy. While nearly two dozen state attorneys general have filed objections to this lawsuit,6 local prosecutors can make commitments to ensure our communities won’t face further targeting. That is why it is critical for us to continue applying pressure on local district attorneys to ensure protection for those obtaining safe abortions and the people who support them. Black women, trans, gender nonconforming, nonbinary folks, poor people, people with disabilities, and people in rural communities are among those impacted the most.
With your help, we can continue our fight by calling on prosecutors to say “NO” to criminalizing abortions.
Until justice is real,
Color Of Change Criminal Justice and Democracy Team
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