Groups mobilize following wave of extreme bans on abortion sweeping the U.S.
For Immediate Release: May 17, 2019
Contact: [email protected]
The movement for reproductive freedom and justice is ramping up following Alabama’s passage of a total ban on abortion this week, and as a wave of other extreme laws stripping reproductive freedom sweeps the country — from Georgia to Ohio to Missouri to Texas. On Tuesday, May 21, national, state and local organizations will hold a National Day of Action to Stop the Bans, with other events throughout the week. The growing list of participants includes All* Above All Action Fund, ACLU, EMILY’s List, Indivisible, MoveOn, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, UltraViolet and Women’s March.
The groups will organize and mobilize their members and activists in all 50 states to host and attend actions outside of state capitols, in town squares, courthouses, and elsewhere.
This day of action comes at a critical juncture in the fight for reproductive freedom and justice, as anti-choice politicians push laws infringing on personal decisions that should be left to women and their doctors, compounded by Donald Trump’s stacking of the Supreme Court and federal judiciary with justices who are hostile to Roe v. Wade.
To sign up to receive updated information, visit www.stopabortionbans.org.
Additional background:
- Last Tuesday, Alabama’s Senate passed a total abortion ban, which will send doctors to prison for up to 99 years and is explicitly designed to overturn Roe v. Wade. And before the bill’s ink was even dry, Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed it into law, saying it is the “best opportunity” for Roe v. Wade to be revisited.
- Days ago, Georgia’s governor Brian Kemp signed into law a bill that makes abortion illegal before many women even know they’re pregnant, could throw doctors in jail, and could lead to women being investigated for a miscarriage.
- Also this week, Missouri’s Senate passed a bill that bans abortion at nearly every stage of pregnancy.
- Meanwhile, Ohio is considering legislation that would put politicians between a woman and her doctor in potentially life-threatening situations — and that was after already passing one of the most restrictive bans in the country.
- This legislative session, the Texas legislature considered a bill that would threaten women seeking an abortion with the death penalty. Republican leaders in the legislature actually gave this bill a hearing, legitimizing the draconian and dystopian proposal.
- Just this year alone, nearly 30 bans on abortion have been introduced, passed, or signed into law in statehouses around the country.