Abortion Providers Call for Change on Anniversary of Dobbs

OUR STATEMENT

Today is the fourth anniversary of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case that upended the legal framework for abortion access in the United States. The following is a joint statement from the National Abortion Federation and Physicians for Reproductive Health in response to this day:

“As leading voices for abortion providers nationwide, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Physicians for Reproductive Health (PRH) know the escalating harms of abortion bans and restrictions since the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade four years ago. Supporting abortion patients and providers means our advocacy must challenge the long-standing legal abortion limits that enable police violence, surveillance, forced medical interventions, and pregnancy criminalization.

 “This moment demands a new era of abortion advocacy, one that understands viability and gestational limits are common and equally harmful forms of abortion bans. When laws regulating abortion care include arbitrary legal limits, politicians and police are invited into exam rooms, advancing control over pregnant people — forcing them to stay pregnant and finding ways to punish them when they don’t. 

“Patients know what’s best for themselves and their families. When people can access abortion care throughout pregnancy, families and communities thrive. No matter when someone needs abortion care, they should be able to access that care with expert medical attention, in their community. If we aim to build a world where patients can get the care they need, when they need it, without bodily harm including criminalization, we must call for evidence-based policies that protect abortion access without arbitrary viability or gestation-based restrictions.”