More than 120 Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Organizations Call on President Biden to Address National Abortion Access Crisis in State of the Union
For Immediate Release: Feb. 16, 2022
Biden’s Speech Falls on Six Month Anniversary of Texas’s Six-Week Abortion Ban
WASHINGTON — Today, more than 120 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations signed an open letter to President Biden ahead of his State of the Union to request that he address the national abortion access crisis and reiterate his support for the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA).
The president’s address to the nation falls on the six-month anniversary of the day Texas’s six-week abortion ban, S.B. 8, took effect. Texans who can afford it and are able to make the trip are leaving the state for abortions, causing an uptick in patients seeking care in neighboring states or self-managing their abortions. The people who can’t find the resources are forced to remain pregnant. Meanwhile, emboldened state lawmakers across the country have introduced an alarming number of abortion restriction bills in 2022, with an eye to the upcoming Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that could overturn Roe v. Wade.
The open letter notes that despite abortion rights at times being innacurately called a “divisive” issue, recent polling, including polls from CNN and FOX News, reiterate that there is broad support for abortion rights and the Roe v. Wade decision. The groups write:
“As you prepare for the State of the Union, we urge you to be clear that protecting abortion access is of paramount importance given both the ongoing crisis in Texas and the likelihood that the Supreme Court will further decimate the constitutional right to abortion later this year. We also urge you to reiterate your support for the Women’s Health Protection Act.”
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“For many Texans — especially immigrants, Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Indigenous communities, particularly those with low incomes — abortion was already a right in name only. S.B. 8 has decimated what little access remained.”
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“And with the Supreme Court poised to potentially overturn Roe v. Wade when they rule on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization this summer, we are staring down a future where basic access to abortion and other reproductive health care will almost certainly depend on what state you live in.”
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“We are hopeful you will make a forceful case to the American public about the administration’s efforts to protect abortion access in the face of unprecedented attacks.”
The open letter signatures include:
A Woman's Choice of Charlotte,
Greensboro, Raleigh, and Jacksonville
Abortion Access Front
Abortion Care Network
Access Reproductive Care
(ARC)-Southeast
ACCESS Reproductive Justice
Advocates for Youth
All-Options
All* Above All Action Fund
American Civil Liberties Union
American Humanist Association
American Muslim Bar Association (AMBA)
American Society for Reproductive
Medicine
Amnesty International USA
Avow
Black Women for Wellness
Black Women for Wellness Action Project
Catholics for Choice
Center for Reproductive Rights
Chicago Abortion Fund
Cobalt
Collective Power for Reproductive Justice
EMAA Project
Equality Labs
Feminist Majority Foundation
Feminist Women's Health Center
Florida Access Network
Fòs Feminista
Freedom From Religion Foundation
Frontera Fund
Fund Texas Choice
Gender Justice
Global Justice Center
Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights
(GRR!)
Guttmacher Institute
HEART Women & Girls
Heartland Alliance International
Hope Clinic for Women
Human Impact Partners
Ibis Reproductive Health
If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive
Justice
In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's
Reproductive Justice Agenda
Ipas
Jane’s Due Process
Jewish Women International
Just The Pill/Abortion Delivered
Justice for Muslims Collective
Lilith Fund
Love Me Unlimited 4 Life
Mabel Wadsworth Center
Medical Students for Choice
Miscarriage + Abortion Hotline
Ms. Foundation for Women
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Abortion Federation
National Advocates for Pregnant Women
National Asian Pacific American Women's
Forum (NAPAWF)
National Birth Equity Collaborative
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Jewish Women Greater
Dallas
National Family Planning & Reproductive
Health Association
National Health Law Program
National Institute for Reproductive Health
National Latina Institute for Reproductive
Justice
National Network of Abortion Funds
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women’s Health Network
National Women’s Law Center
National Women's Political Caucus
Nebraska Abortion Resources (NEAR)
New Mexico Religious Coalition for
Reproductive Choice
New Orleans Abortion Fund
New River Abortion Access Fund
Northland Family Planning Centers
NWAAF
PAI
Pathfinder International
People For the American Way
Physicians for Reproductive Health
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Population Institute
Power to Decide
Pregnancy Options WI: Education,
Resources & Support, Inc.
Pro-Choice Connecticut
Pro-Choice Maryland
Pro-Choice Missouri
Pro-Choice North Carolina
Pro-Choice Ohio
Pro-Choice Oregon
Pro-Choice Virginia
Pro-Choice Washington
Queer Crescent
Reclaim/ MI WIN Abortion Fund
Reproaction
Reproductive Equity Now
Reproductive Health Access Project
Rhia Ventures
Right By You
SHERo Mississippi
SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change
SisterLove Inc.
SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive
Justice Collective
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
State Innovation Exchange (SiX)
Supermajority
Tampa Bay Access Force, Inc.
Texas Equal Access Fund
The Afiya Center
The Womxn Project
UltraViolet
Union for Reform Judaism
URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender
Equity
We Testify
White Ribbon Alliance
Whole Woman's Health Alliance
Women of Reform Judaism
Women with a Vision
Women's Medical Fund, Inc.
Women's March
Yellowhammer Fund
YWCA Kalamazoo
#VOTEPROCHOICE
2+ Abortions Worldwide
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