Message from National NOW President Christian F. Nunes
April 12, 2024
Greetings Feminists,
This week’s shocking decision from the Arizona Supreme Court to uphold an extreme 1864 abortion ban adds another state to the grim list of places where abortion care is banned and women’s lives are in danger.
The law was passed before Arizona became a state and existed for years as a “zombie” law that was never repealed. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs decision, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the national and state laws could be “harmonized,” and the zombie was revived.
Because there is no constitutional right to abortion care, extremist judges and lawmakers in states like Arizona, Florida, Texas, and others have taken draconian action in the wake of Dobbs to deny women their reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.
This update from the Guttmacher Institute shows the states where laws have been passed that restrict or protect abortion rights. It’s evident that a patchwork system of laws is dangerous and must be dismantled--with more states lining up to restrict and ban abortion, while others become sanctuaries for women seeking refuge from states that refuse urgently needed treatment.
Congress must restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law so women in every state will have access to the full range of reproductive health care they need, including access to OB/GYN services, birth control and IVF.
And we need a Congress that will pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would stop extremist rulings and laws that undermine the right to access abortion care free from medically unnecessary restrictions and bans.
Women and birthing people deserve the right to make decisions about their lives. That includes choices about when and if they will start and grow their families. But the right to make those decisions is being taken away by activist courts and extremist politicians who want to disempower women in all aspects of their lives—starting with their reproductive health.
Women’s rights need constitutional protection. That means the ERA, of course, but also the essential healthcare rights the Supreme Court shredded when they reversed Roe.
NOW members know what’s at stake today—and in the election this November. We are always fighting for women’s lives.
In solidarity,
Christian
