URGE WARNS: YOUNG PEOPLE WILL SUFFER IF SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS ABORTION RIGHTS IN JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH CASE
Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case whose outcome could eliminate abortion access for many Mississippians and trigger a cascade of abortion bans across the South and Midwest. As the court’s Trump-appointed conservative majority threatens to overturn a nearly 50-year precedent of Roe v. Wade, reproductive justice experts from URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity warn of how a further blow to abortion access will harm communities:
Kimberly Inez McGuire (she/her/ella), Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity said, “In my lifetime, protections for legal abortion have become so threadbare that with this case they could crumble entirely. Anti-abortion extremists have seized state legislatures in the South and the Midwest, placed their acolytes on the Supreme Court, and now they want to fulfill their goal of making abortion a crime. But they will never stop us from making our own decisions and fulfilling our dreams of liberation.”
“It’s up to us–to each person experiencing a pregnancy, to decide if, when, and how to continue that pregnancy or become a parent. As a queer Latina, a survivor, and a mother, I know, as young people across this country know, that safe and accessible abortion is a good thing.” McGuire continued, “If Roe v. Wade is overturned by the nation’s highest court, more than 40 million people nationally will lose access to abortion care–but Black and brown women, immigrants, and trans and non-binary young people of color will suffer most. The same communities who’ve been denied access to affordable health care, and denied the right to raise our children in safe and healthy communities.”
“Regardless of the outcome of this Supreme Court case, URGE will continue to build young people power to secure reproductive justice, including access to abortion, for us all. When a person decides to end a pregnancy, whether they go to a health care provider or manage their own abortion, they should be able to do so safely and with dignity—and without fear of arrest, investigation, or jail time.”
“We cannot view the introduction and implementation of these abortion bans as one-off attempts by state governments. From Texas’ SB 8, to Ohio’s HB 480, to the 26 states that are poised to implement total or near-total abortion bans should Roe v. Wade be overturned, we must acknowledge what these bans are: coordinated attacks by anti-abortion, conservative lawmakers who are sharing the same white supremacist playbook,” explained Desireé Luckey (she/her/hers), Policy Director for URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity. “In Texas, where I live, I have seen firsthand the irreparable damage SB 8’s passage has already caused, especially for young queer people of color. We must codify abortion rights by passing the Women’s Health Protection Act and end politically motivated restrictions against safe, common-sense, medication abortion that further deprives marginalized communities who lack the resources to access quality care in-clinic.”
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About URGE:
URGE envisions a liberated world where we can live with justice, love freely, express our gender and sexuality, and define and create families of our choosing. To achieve our vision of liberation, URGE builds power and sustains a young people’s movement for reproductive justice by centering the leadership of young people of color who are women, queer, trans, nonbinary, and people of low-income. As a state-driven national organization, URGE organizes our communities, provides a political home for young people, advocates for meaningful policy change, and shifts culture, working in states where the challenges and opportunities are greatest.
