Friend:

On Wednesday, I was inside the Supreme Court to hear the oral arguments in June Medical Services v. Russo, an abortion case that poses a serious threat to reproductive freedom AND religious freedom everywhere.

The issue before the Court involved a Louisiana law that, in effect, blocks abortion access across the state by requiring doctors to have unnecessary “admitting privileges” at local hospitals. friend, while there is no explicit tie to religion, we know this case is also about whether the government can impose a narrow set of religious beliefs on all of us.

I was in line at the Supreme Court by 5:40 a.m. and was the second-to-last person to make it into the Court for the argument!

Reproductive freedom is religious freedom. That’s what AU staff said at the rally outside the Court on Wednesday, and that’s what I told former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer Thursday on his new TV show, “Spicer & Co.” I offered the “opposing viewpoint” for his conservative audience; the other guest was the head of the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. Click here to watch our debate.

Given how the arguments went in the courtroom, I am hoping the decision won’t be a disaster, but make no mistake: These are dangerous times for both reproductive freedom and religious freedom, and we must all do whatever we can to preserve the right to make our own decisions about these core aspects of ourselves.

Americans United and our allies will be back at the Supreme Court in less than two months for another major reproductive freedom case concerning a Trump rule that would allow employers and universities to use religion to deny birth control coverage for their employees and students.

I’m thankful that our growing movement is ready to meet each and every one of these challenges head on – and that’s due to your commitment and support. It’s time, friends, to summon our loudest voices so that we can remind our neighbors how essential the separation of religion and government is to so many of our freedoms.

With hope and determination,