Friday, January 22nd is the 43rd Anniversary of Roe v Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the United States. Each year we gather at the steps of the Supreme Court to honor and celebrate our right to access safe and healthy abortion care. We stand in the cold to show that we don’t take our right to abortion for granted – and we shouldn’t.
In 2015, Congress tried to defund Planned Parenthood multiple times as states across the country passed TRAP (targeted regulation of abortion providers) laws causing clinics to close and waiting lists to lengthen. We saw clinics terrorized and 3 people tragically murdered at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. And this March, the Supreme Court will hear Whole Woman’s Health v Cole, a case that will decide the future of abortion not only for Texas, but the whole country. This year, more than ever, it’s important for us to rise up and take action to defend our fundamental human right to safe, legal abortion.
That’s why we’re doing things a little differently this year to honor the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Not only are we Rising Up for Roe at the Supreme Court, the Feminist Majority Foundation is also calling on the House Select Investigative Panel investigating Planned Parenthood and big abortion providers to either redirect their focus to anti abortion clinic violence, or to disband. Check out our website for more information about our new campaign. Because it’s not enough for abortion to be legal, it also has to be safe and accessible.
If you live in the DC area please join us on Friday at the Supreme Court. If you don’t, consider adopting a clinic near you to support access to abortion in your community. Because while most Americans support legal abortion, it’s up to us, as feminists, students and activists, to ensure that abortion clinics stay open.
