June 24, 2022

As expected, earlier today, the Supreme Court of the United States released its final decision in Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs, a 15-week abortion ban out of Mississippi. In a 6-3 vote, the Court has gutted Roe v. Wade, overturning nearly 50 years of federal protections for abortion. The 15-week ban in Mississippi will go into immediate effect, and at least 25 other states will likely move towards banning abortion entirely. 

With this ruling, SCOTUS has dealt a massive blow to abortion access for millions of people across the country, and put many other civil liberties at immediate risk, including marriage equality, access to contraception, the right to privacy, religious freedom, and more. Today’s decision is not just an attack on our reproductive rights – this is a full-scale assault on our right to determine how we live our lives. 

RHAP feels this decision deeply and in different ways. We come to this work with different lived experiences, motivations, and drives; we are activists, allies, educators, parents, partners, children, abortion providers, abortion seekers, and so much more. We are outraged and heartbroken for ourselves, our loved ones, clinicians across the country, and people everywhere that need abortion care. Denying people the ability to determine their own reproductive futures and preventing clinicians from providing critical health care is cruel and unconscionable.The end of Roe is not the end of abortion access. Abortion care is still available, and abortion pills are here to stay. 

The Reproductive Health Access Project is committed to training, supporting, and mobilizing primary care clinicians to ensure equitable access to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion. Our work does not stop. Abortion is essential health care, regardless of what politicians, the law, or other systems of white supremacy say. To clinicians: we are not backing away from the support we offer, no matter where you are located or what laws affect your state. We see you, we value you, and we are dedicated to helping you provide compassionate, person-centered care to your patients. 

In this moment of grief and outrage, we urge you to remember that people have had abortions long before Roe v. Wade and people will continue to have abortions after Roe – and that the standard set by Roe never truly ensured access for everyone in this country. Black, Indigenous, People of Color, queer folks, rural communities, immigrants, disabled people, young people, and those working to make ends meet have been disproportionately harmed by abortion restrictions, criminalized for pregnancy experiences, and often excluded from mainstream reproductive rights conversations. This is why, as we move beyond Roe, we must center the experiences of people who are – and have been – most impacted by systemic inequities and injustices, and look to the leadership of our colleagues in the reproductive justice movement. 

The days, weeks, and months ahead will be difficult, and we do not have all the answers. But we all have a role to play in the fight for liberation, and we will take care of each other. Please join us for the transformational work that lies ahead. 

Here’s how you can take action right now:

• Attend a Decision Day action today. Find local events: map.wewontgoback.com
• Support your local abortion fund
• Donate to RHAP
• Uplift and share resources to help your community access abortion care and information:
  • abortionfinder.org, INeedanA.com, and plancpills.org for people who are seeking care
  • M+A Hotline a confidential, private, and secure phone and text hotline for people in need of support for self-managed miscarriage or abortion.
  • If you have questions about self-managed abortion and the law, @ifwhenhow can help. The Repro Legal Helpline is a free, confidential source for legal advice and information on self-managed abortion. Visit ReproLegalHelpline.org or call 844-868-2812.
• If are a clinician working in primary care, join our Reproductive Health Access Network, to work both nationally and in your community to expand access to sexual and reproductive health care.
• Sign up for RHAP’s Abortion 101 workshop on July 14 at noon ET/ 9 am PT
• Sign up for RHAP’s SCOTUS Decision Debrief on July 20th at noon ET/ 9 am PT
• Take part in the Liberate Abortion campaign.
• Do a Digital Security Check-Up of your own online presence as an abortion advocate.