The Supreme Court has sent a resounding message for now to politicians all across the country: Stop trying to make abortion inaccessible.
Central in the case was a Louisiana law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital — a restriction identical to one of the Texas laws the Court struck down four years ago in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. The Court ruled that under that precedent, the identical Louisiana law — which would have decimated access to abortion in the state — could not stand.
While today is a victory for Louisianans, for far too many people, access to abortion still remains a right on paper only.
We live in a land where politicians have pushed basic health care almost out of reach for millions of Americans, and where your ability to access abortion is still determined by where you live, how much money you make, and the color of your skin.
Racism is a public health crisis, and it can be as overt as police brutality or as subtle as state-sanctioned, anti-abortion restrictions that disproportionately affect Black communities.
For too long we as a country have underinvested and under-resourced Black and Latinx communities — leading to less access to health care and dramatic health care disparities. Economic inequality, structural racism, and public health failures have translated to exponentially higher COVID-19 infection and death rates in the Black and Latinx communities.
Right now people need more access to health care, not less. Abortion is essential. Reproductive health care is essential.
Abortion is still safe and legal in every state in America. While we celebrate today, the fight for reproductive freedom for all is far from over. We will be there fighting every step of the way, until access to basic health care is both a right, and available to everyone — regardless of their race, income, location, or gender identity.
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Tags: Abortion, Supreme Court