RALEIGH, NC–The illegitimate conservative majority of the Supreme Court stolen by an extremist minority party looks to have voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in a landmark decision by the Court. This move will threaten the lives of millions of Americans across our country. During its time, Roe v. Wade saved countless lives by allowing access to safe and affordable abortions.

We are in 2022. We should not be having this discussion. People should be able to decide what they want to do with their own bodies, end of discussion. Abortions will not cease—it’s merely safe abortions will no longer continue, which endangers lives across this county. Conservatives have upended a long-standing precedent and will use this to fuel their so-called righteous ideology.

We’ve seen this trend across the country from state legislatures in Texas and Oklahoma, now all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, DC. Forcing unwanted or harmful pregnancies on people across this country is inhumane and should be unconstitutional. It has been so for many years.

We have a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, and we have President Biden. We must stop at nothing to ensure that we can protect everyone’s right to reproductive care. Every person deserves the right to choose to do what they want with their own body. That is a basic human right and it is under attack now more than ever. The Young Democrats of North Carolina understand that abortion is healthcare and healthcare is a human right. We stand with our parent organization, the Young Democrats of America, in calling on our party to work harder to fight for these basic human rights and basic values that we cherish as Democrats, and as Americans.

We here at the YDNC encourage our members to stand up and make their voices heard, now more than ever. Not just against the Supreme Court Justices that are harming millions of Americans across this country with this ruling, but in demanding that our North Carolina state legislature ensure that we have access to affordable and safe reproductive healthcare.

We are tremendously disappointed in the Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade. In North Carolina, the fight continues. Our own Democratic majority in the North Carolina Supreme Court is in jeopardy, and we must elect Justice Sam Ervin and Judge Lucy Inman to protect the rights of North Carolinians so that everyone in NC has access to the care they need.

The work starts now. We are organizing for a November election that could determine the state of our democracy for years to come. We need to vote like our lives depend on it, because very soon, they will.

To find out how you can support abortion access in North Carolina, check out the Carolina Abortion Fund.