Friend:

Monday night, there was only one place I wanted to be. I made my way to the U.S. Supreme Court to join the growing crowd of people horrified by the news about Justice Alito’s draft opinion, which would abolish the constitutional right to abortion. There was no formal rally planned. Like so many others who felt gut-punched, I needed to be in community with people who agree that access to abortion is a civil and human right that is essential to our health, equality, and freedom.

When I went to the Court, I wore my new AU sweatshirt (which will soon be for sale so you can have one too). A young woman approached me to tell me how much she loves our group, and also to share that her grandpa, who had just passed away, was a huge fan and had kept all of our Church & State magazines.

As we were talking, the group outside the court was growing to the hundreds and spontaneously began to chant: “Not the church. Not the state. We decide our fate.” “Get your rosaries off my ovaries.” “Abortion is a mitzvah” (in Judaism, abortion is a religious duty if a pregnant person’s health is at risk). If you follow me on Twitter @RachelKLaser, you’ll see videos of these chants.

At such a dark time, I took a moment to feel the connection with those around me and to appreciate that these activists instinctively “get” something we have been saying for a long time: reproductive freedom is religious freedom. The foundational principle of separation of church and state safeguards our right to live and believe as we choose. We all must be free to make personal medical decisions without interference from religious extremists and their lawmaker allies who want to force all of us to live by their beliefs.

The rallies outside the Supreme Court and around the country continued this week. People cheered when they saw AU’s signs—“Religious freedom demands abortion rights” and our new tagline—“Freedom Without Favor, Equality Without Exception.”

Now is the time to advocate for church-state separation—to urge everyone you know to join Americans United. As Alito’s opinion makes clear, religious extremists aren’t just targeting abortion rights—also in their crosshairs is access to contraception, marriage equality, LGBTQ rights, racial justice—and our very democracy.

Just Monday the Supreme Court issued a unanimous (though narrow) opinion in favor of a Christian nationalist group that wants to force Boston to fly the Christian flag at city hall. And two more SCOTUS decisions are expected in the coming weeks (including in AU’s case, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District) that could dramatically impact religious freedom for all of us. We cannot take church-state separation for granted—America would no longer be America without it.

I find myself talking about starfish a lot lately. There’s a parable I love: With thousands of starfish stranded on a beach, a small child rescues them one by one, putting them back in the water. A cynical adult notes the child can’t possibly save them all, and questions whether the kid is making a difference. Shepherding another starfish to safety, the child notes, “I made a difference for that one!” Individually and collectively, we have the power to make a difference. That’s why I’m so grateful to have your support and that we all have each other in these unprecedented times.

With hope and determination,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO