Dear John,
In what Jill Filipovic called an “insult and an abomination,” this week Senate Republicans — joined by a lone Democrat, Joe Manchin — voted to defeat the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA). The proposed law would have codified the right to abortion nationwide, and was viewed by many as a last-ditch attempt to preserve abortion rights in the face of a likely reversal of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court.
The leaked Supreme Court draft — written by Justice Alito — would not only overturn Roe, but dismisses the powerful argument that denying access to abortion violates women’s equal rights and the Constitution’s guarantee of liberty. As Ms. contributing editor Carrie Baker writes, “Alito’s draft cites a thoroughly discredited 1974 decision, Geduldig v. Aiello, in which the Supreme Court ruled that discriminating against a pregnant woman was not sex discrimination, but instead was discrimination between ‘pregnant and non-pregnant persons.’”
The leaked Supreme Court draft and Wednesday’s defeat of the WHPA show how profoundly out of step the majority of justices and congressional Republicans are with the American people. Recent public opinion polls show that voters strongly believe the Supreme Court should uphold Roe — by a +28 point margin. And nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Americans would be more likely to support a candidate for elective office who was in favor of abortion rights.
In the meantime, GOP-led state legislatures and governors continue to push state-level bans and restrictions on abortion that are increasingly severe. Many of these state level bans do not include exceptions for cases of rape and incest — and when they include exemptions for the health and life of the woman, these are often inadequate. A recently proposed abortion ban in Louisiana would have gone as far as to charge women who have abortions with murder.
In the face of this profound injustice, we refuse to remain complacent. Today, women and their supporters across the nation will gather to protest for their rights, for their equality, and for their lives. We hope to see you there — and at the ballot box this November.
