Dear John,

The leaked draft version of the Supreme Court’s majority decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has sent shock waves across the U.S. Although we await the final decision, we now know that the Court is poised to overrule the longstanding precedents of Roe v. Wade—representing the biggest blow to women's constitutional rights in history.

If the Supreme Court overturns Roe, abortion access will be endangered nationwide: anti-abortion groups have already announced their intention to pass a federal law to ban abortions across the country. 

We have very little time to raise our voices in protest before a final decision is issued.

We know that women who have had abortions have spoken out many times during the last 49 years, and millions of women and men have marched in countless rallies and demonstrations for abortion rights. By a margin of 2 to 1, Americans support the tenets of Roe v. Wade.

In January, we launched a petition campaign with the encouragement and support of some of the original signers of Ms. magazine’s 1972 petition in which 53 well-known U.S. women declared that they had undergone abortions—despite laws in most states rendering the procedure illegal.

A recent article in The Washington Post credited the 1972 petition with the “start of a powerful strategy in the U.S. abortion rights movement: ending the secrecy that had kept many women out of the fight.” 

Once again we invite all women, whether or not you’ve had an abortion, to sign in order to “help eliminate the stigma” of abortion and to demand the repeal of all laws restricting women’s reproductive freedoms.

We cannot, we must not, lose the right to safe and accessible abortion or access to birth control. Just as in 1972, we will send the signed petition to members of Congress, to the White House, and to the Supreme Court. And we will publish the names in an upcoming Special Issue of Ms. and on Msmagazine.com.

Over 7,500 women have already signed our new petition. You can help us by promoting the petition to your friends, family and others across the country to join our fight to save abortion rights.

For equality and a strong feminist future,