Hi John,

The Supreme Court just delivered an important victory, upholding the right to abortion against politicians’ attempts to end abortion access in Louisiana. The law in this case had nothing to do with protecting the health of people who seek abortions and everything to do with putting obstacles in our way and shutting down abortion clinics.

Abortion is essential, time-sensitive health care, and people in Louisiana—and across the country—need to be able to access abortion care when they need it. We already know that too many people—especially Black and brown people and those living in poverty—struggle to access abortion. At this moment—during a pandemic, economic crisis, and reckoning with America’s racist history and present—it's important to name that this decision doesn’t go far enough.

We’re working to create a world where people can access abortion free from judgment, stigma, discrimination, or barriers—and where we don’t have to keep defending it at the Supreme Court. Because even though by upholding abortion care the Supreme Court did what it was obligated to do, we’re tired of going to the Court to constantly defend our rights. We know attacks on abortion will only continue. That’s why we need to build on today’s win to build a better future. Here’s how we do that:

1. Learn about and support our Abortions Rights Project partners. These are groups that are doing critical, on-the-ground work to protect and expand access to abortion in the communities that need it the most. Check out their work, and consider supporting them if you can.
2. Tell Congress to protect abortion access. There’s a bill in Congress right now called the Women’s Health Protection Act that would help stop these ideological attacks on abortion rights and access. We can’t keep being on the defensive—we need Congress to make proactive progress on behalf of abortion rights.
3. Change the culture around abortion. Anti-abortion lawmakers feed off the stigma that wrongly surrounds abortion. We can help create a world that better reflects what abortion actually is about—freedom, love, healing, equality. Change your phone background, download Zoom backgrounds, or work on a coloring page that paint abortion as the positive thing it is for so many people.

Today we managed to ward off an attack on abortion at the Supreme Court. Tomorrow, we start building the barrier-free, stigma-free world of abortion access we want.

In solidarity,
Gretchen Borchelt (she/her/hers)
Vice President for Reproductive Rights and Health
National Women's Law Center