Take Action to Protect Abortion Rights
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Dobbs versus Jackson (Mississippi 15-week abortion ban), and predictably, the conservative justices signaled their support for restricting abortion. The decision will not be issued until June 2022. This case threatens our constitutional rights to abortion and access to reproductive healthcare, established nearly 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade.
Then, on Friday, the Supreme Court left in place the extreme Texan anti-abortion law, SB8, (bans abortions after six weeks and establishes vigilante citizens to enforce it), while allowing very narrow challenges to it to proceed. SB8 has now been in place in Texas for over 100 days, denying healthcare to thousands of people who want and need it.
So, what can we do? Contact your senator! Find your senators’ contact details; see if your senator is already a co-sponsor.
The Women’s Health Protection Act (H.R. 3755) is a bill that will codify Roe v Wade by creating a federal right to abortion health care. The House already passed the bill on November 24. The Senate needs to take action on this bill now. Demand it!
Our two Minnesota Senators, Klobuchar and Smith, already co-sponsored this bill. Contact them, by phone or email, to thank them and urge them to do all they can to get this bill passed in the Senate. Let them know why it is important to you to keep access to abortion available to everyone. Tell your story. They can carry it and your support into the fight.
Contact friends in other states and encourage them to demand action from their Senators. Urge them to share their story about why this bill needs to be passed as quickly as possible.
Learn more about the Women’s Health Protection Act and a great article from Ms Magazine. Watch Gender Justice’s “Listening Live to Supreme Court Abortion Hearings.”