You’ve probably heard that Donald Trump announced his abortion policy as President would be to “leave it to the states.” I want to talk a bit about what that means — because let’s be clear: it’s been a disaster for women across this country.

Leaving it to the states has made it so that emergency rooms and maternity wards in Texas and Idaho are turning away pregnant patients for fear of getting sued — depriving women of necessary care during pregnancy and at the time of their delivery.

Leaving it to the states has forced women to carry unviable pregnancies to term with terrible risks to their long-term health — all because extremist politicians decided that they should be the ones to decide what women do with their bodies.

Leaving it to the states has meant that in Arizona, the court just upheld a draconian abortion ban that calls for imprisoning doctors who perform abortions, even in cases of rape and incest. This ban originates from a law passed in 1864, before women even had the right to vote.

Leaving it to the states has resulted in more than 23 million women of reproductive age living in a state where their reproductive freedom has been taken away from them.

So let’s be clear — we need federal legislation to reinstate abortion rights in all 50 states, and that’s exactly what I’m fighting for. But to get it done, we need to win this next election and retake the House, and that’s going to take all of us.

Can you pitch in today and help me keep up the fight to reinstate abortion rights across this country — and stop extremist politicians from telling women what we can and can’t do with our bodies?

Thank you,

Brittany Pettersen