On January 22, 1973, 47 years ago, the United States Supreme Court issued the landmark decision Roe v. Wade, making clear that the U.S. Constitution protects a woman’s right to decide whether to have an abortion. In the years since, anti-abortion lawmakers and activists have fought to gut the scope of its protections by passing laws that severely limit access to and stigmatize those who exercise this critical right. Since 2011 alone, they’ve pushed through nearly 450 state abortion restrictions. And, now, the Supreme Court is poised to hear a case – June Medical v. Gee – that not only threatens critical rights but raises questions about the legitimacy of the Supreme Court itself. Since 1973, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed its holding in Roe and struck down state laws that encroach on the right to decide whether to have an abortion. But now, Trump's selections for lifetime appointments to the federal bench have made clear their commitment to rolling back reproductive rights for generations to come, and some have already put their positions into practice in ruling from the bench. On this forty-seventh anniversary of Roe v. Wade, AFJ reasserts its commitment to continuing the fight to protect the constitutional right to abortion. Join us in standing up for this right and fighting for fair courts in 2020. | |
