John,

You’ve probably heard the news by now. The Supreme Court appears to be on the cusp of a shocking attack on our basic rights.

Last night, reports emerged of a leaked draft of an opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade in its entirety. The draft opinion has been confirmed as authentic, and reports suggest it is supported by at least 5 of the 6 right-wing justices. You can read it in full here. It is important to note that this opinion is not final, and that abortion remains legal in all fifty states as of today.

However, if this opinion or one similar to it does end up being issued by a majority of the Court in the coming days or weeks, it would mean abortion would be banned immediately or in short order in up to 22 states representing 42% of the population of child-bearing age.¹

This far-right Supreme Court majority is a byproduct of two Republican presidential administrations that lost the popular vote and a Republican senate majority that pulled off the outright theft of a Supreme Court seat. If this opinion becomes reality, they would achieve their long-sought goal of stripping people seeking abortions of the right to plan families and control their own bodies. People would be prosecuted and jailed for making personal health decisions. People with high-risk pregnancies would be denied care.

And, just as with the explosion of current state laws restricting abortion rights, it would be poor and working class communities across the country who are made to suffer the most.

Polls show that vast majorities of Americans oppose the overturning of Roe v. Wade.² But Republicans and the imperious far-right Supreme Court majority they have engineered do not care about us.

They gave up a long time ago on the idea of winning popular support for their policy goals. Instead, they seek to accomplish via capture of the courts and attacks on the right to vote itself what they could never win in free and fair elections.

But no Supreme Court — especially one lacking any popular legitimacy — can dictate our rights to us. We the people will always have the final say.

We need to stand up everywhere in the coming days and weeks and months — in our communities, in the halls of Congress, in state legislatures, in elections, and in the streets. Here's how you can make a difference right now:

• Now more than ever, abortion funds working on the ground need our support — especially in states with de facto bans and trigger laws on the books. Split a contribution between abortion funds and pro-choice groups across the country here.
• Show up to a rally today in your city. In DC, people will be at SCOTUS all day. Follow the #BansOffOurBodies hashtag for information on events and mobilizations across the country.
• The House has already passed a bill codifying the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law. We need to double down in our call on the Senate to immediately end the filibuster and pass the Women’s Health Protection Act. Add your name here and we'll then connect you to a call script with instructions to call your senators.
• Three weeks from today, voters in South Texas will have a chance to send a powerful message by electing Jessica Cisneros and defeating one of the last anti-abortion Democrats in Congress in Henry Cuellar. And through the rest of the spring, summer, and fall, we have a chance to defeat Republicans and elect WFP champions at the state level and the U.S. Senate who will stand up for abortion rights. Sign up to make calls for Jessica Cisneros with WFP this Thursday here.

In solidarity,

All of us at the Working Families Party

Sources:

1. What an America without Roe would look like, The New York Times, December 5, 2021.
2. CNN Poll: As Supreme Court ruling on Roe looms, most Americans oppose overturning it, CNN, January 21, 2022.

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