Today is the 48th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade. Dr. Jamila Perritt, President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, issued the following statement:
“Each year we mark the ruling in Roe v. Wade and honor the legal precedent that protected access to abortion care in America. While this Supreme Court decision was significant, it is clear that legality has never been enough. Medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion care implemented by anti-abortion legislators in countless states across the country have made abortion care almost impossible to access.
“In reality, the legal right to abortion only exists for those with the resources and means to access that care. For everyone else, it remains out of reach.
In reality, the legal right to abortion only exists for those with the resources and means to access that care
“As the balance of our Supreme Court has shifted, stacked with more anti-abortion justices than ever before, as states continue to push abortion care further and further out of reach for their communities, it’s evident that we need proactive leadership to ensure access to abortion care is a reality for all, not just a select few.
“We have a unique opportunity to be unified in our efforts to ensure that no matter what health care someone might need, they can access compassionate, timely, community-centered care. The Biden-Harris Administration must take immediate action to show that abortion is essential health care by clearly and explicitly stating their commitment to comprehensive and reproductive health care, including abortion, removing medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion care such as the current restrictions on medication abortion, rescinding the Title X gag rule, issuing a clean presidential budget that ends the harmful Hyde Amendment, and ensuring that everyone can access the care they need in their communities.”
