Friend:

Lately, I’ve been on the road a fair amount. Last week it was New York City and Boston. This week, I took a trip to the heartland and visited Missouri. As a native Chicagoan, the Midwest is close to my heart. But being in Missouri, a state that has completely banned abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, made my heart hurt.

Missouri doesn’t allow exceptions for victims of rape or incest, and you cannot even be certain you’ll get one if your life or health is at risk. The story recently told by this Missouri woman is horrifying – she was forced to go to an out-of-state abortion clinic when in-state doctors said the ban prevented them from ending her high-risk pregnancy even though the fetus wasn’t viable.

Despite this reality, the trip was hopeful. The activists on the ground – like the staff of Pro-Choice Missouri – are fighters and they refuse to give up. And they are partnering with amazing faith leaders in their fight. 

I was honored to be invited to participate in a panel of faith leaders advocating for abortion rights and to bring the perspective that abortion bans violate church-state separation. The religious leaders were solidly with me, as was the audience. 

I also had the privilege of meeting and dining with dedicated members of Americans United’s St. Louis Chapter, who are incredibly passionate about our shared mission of protecting the separation of church and state. It’s reassuring, even in our country’s darkest hours, to know we have so many supporters and allies fighting on the front lines for freedom without favor and equality without exception.

Here’s another sign of these supporters in action: Faith leaders and an AU chapter leader are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit we filed on behalf of Liz and Gabe Rutan-Ram, a Jewish couple from Tennessee who were turned away from a taxpayer-funded foster care agency because they were the “wrong” religion. We just filed an appellate brief in their case this week; you can read more about it here.

I firmly believe that if we continue to band together, to realize the power of our voices and to expand our allies, we will win this fight for American democracy and its bedrock principle of church-state separation. Stay the course, friends!

With hope and determination,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO