Dear Friend,

BREAKING: The Supreme Court just agreed to hear a case that puts Roe v. Wade in mortal danger by allowing states to shut down abortion clinics with impunity.

The case is a carbon copy of one that the Supreme Court heard in 2016, when they struck down Texas's clinic shutdown law. But now Brett Kavanaugh sits on the Court, ready to gut Roe.(1)

If the Supreme Court allows these clinic shutdown laws to stand, we'll soon see entire regions of the country with zero abortion providers -- and even blue states like California will become overburdened to fill the gap, causing longer wait times for appointments. That's why we need to ramp up our campaign to pressure Congress to enshrine reproductive rights into law and stop clinic shutdowns.

This is the most direct threat to abortion rights that we've seen in decades. Will you donate to Courage Campaign and help protect safe and legal abortion?

In 2016, the Supreme Court heard Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, a case concerning a Texas clinic shutdown law. These laws are sometimes called Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider (TRAP) laws, and they create a maze of regulations that are specifically designed to be impossible for abortion providers to meet.

Examples of TRAP laws in various states include rules requiring procedure rooms to be more than 120 square feet, prohibiting clinics from being within 2,000 feet of a school, or prohibiting the humidity in the procedure rooms to be above 60%.(2) Texas's law was one of the most radical, forcing nearly 80% of the clinics in the state to shut down before the courts stepped in.(3)

The Supreme Court found that Texas's clinic shutdown law was an unconstitutional obstacle to abortion access and a clear violation of Roe v. Wade.

Considering that the Louisiana law in the current case, June Medical Services v. Gee, is nearly identical to the Texas law, the Supreme Court should have automatically struck it down based on precedent. But the Court that decided Whole Woman's Health didn't have Brett Kavanaugh and an anti-choice majority sitting on the bench -- and the outcome could be entirely different.

Abortion may still be legal on paper, but if states can shut down virtually all abortion providers, then abortion is, in effect, banned. Courage Campaign is standing against this assault on Roe v. Wade. Will you donate to help fight back?

Yes, I'll donate to help save abortion rights.

Yours in the fight for reproductive rights,

Caitlin, along with Analeeza, Annie, Deepthi, Diego, Eddie, Gabby, Jay, Lindsay, Mai, Mary, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team)

Footnotes:
1. https://www.vox.com/2019/10/4/20874618/supreme-court-first-big-abortion-case-of-the-kavanaugh-era
2. https://www.bustle.com/p/11-trap-laws-that-prevent-abortion-across-america-7973827
3. https://reproductiverights.org/press-room/new-research-reveals-devastating-impact-of-clinic-shutdown-laws-on-texas-women

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