Friend:

It’s Orwellian in the extreme. 

Not only has Texas outlawed abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy—before most people even know they are pregnant—but it has deputized private citizens to sue anyone whom they believe* is violating the new law by helping someone get an abortion.

(*And we know just how fact-based anti-choice beliefs can be.)

This is religious extremism run amok. Religion should never be used to harm others. But in Texas, it can now be used to deny people critical reproductive health care AND take providers and virtually anyone who “aids or abets” them to court and cost them a fortune in legal fees.

Even worse—if that’s possible: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. For people in Texas, Roe v. Wade is essentially dead-letter law. No doubt other states will follow suit.

Defenders of separation between government and religion are sometimes accused of crying wolf and exaggerating the threat of Christian nationalism. But you and I know the wolves have been at the door for generations; now they’re gnawing through the wood.

When the Court refused to block the draconian Texas law, AU demanded that it intervene and put a stop to this out-of-control attack on reproductive and religious freedom. Even if, as many of us fear, its conservative majority is angling to overturn Roe v. Wade in the coming year, abortion remains legal right now. 

I was planning to focus this message on the arrival of AU’s new class of Youth Organizing Fellows. Suffice it to say—our youth fellows give me tremendous hope, and continuing to connect with a new generation of leaders is going to be a critical part of fixing the brokenness we are witnessing. 

It’s been a tough week. But with your support, we’ll continue to do our part to uphold the freedom and equality that our Constitution promises.

With hope and determination,