OKLAHOMA CITY — The Supreme Court issued a shameful ruling today overturning Roe v. Wade — the landmark decision recognizing the constitutional right to abortion for 50 years.
The ruling in this case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, will set off a chain reaction with states banning abortion and criminalizing essential care throughout entire regions of the country, and has given politicians in Oklahoma the green light from the Supreme Court to continue to enforce their cruel agenda.
This decision is an unprecedented attack on reproductive freedom and body autonomy. Half the states in the country are expected to ban abortion, denying the 36 million women and other people who can become pregnant the fundamental right to decide for themselves whether and when to become a parent.
The ACLU of Oklahoma is working with partners and providers to respond to this ruling and fight back.
The following is attributable to Tamya Cox-Touré, ACLU of Oklahoma Executive Director:
“The Supreme Court ruling is an unprecedented attack on reproductive freedom and body autonomy, but anti-abortion politicians do not get the final say on our fundamental rights — we do. For far too many weeks, Oklahoma residents have had fewer rights than people in other states in this country, putting our state on the wrong side of history. Banning abortion is deeply unpopular in Oklahoma and across the country, and there will be no place for the politicians who pass these laws to hide from the consequences of their cruel actions.”
“As some Oklahoma residents have already experienced due to severe obstacles to abortion care, banning abortion leaves many with no other option than to carry a pregnancy to term and give birth. Forcing someone to carry a pregnancy against their will has life-altering consequences, including enduring serious health risks from continued pregnancy and childbirth, making it harder to escape poverty, derailing their education and career plans, and making it more difficult to leave an abusive partner. Today’s ruling will also have deadly consequences, with the harm falling hardest on Black women and other people of color who already face a severe maternal mortality crisis that is the worst in the same states that are determined to ban abortion. If abortion is banned nationwide, pregnancy-related deaths are estimated to increase by 21 percent and 33 percent among Black women. This opinion will also subject pregnancy losses to suspicion, investigation, and arrest, and patients and doctors could face charges and jail.”
“Make no mistake: Politicians will not stop here. The same anti-abortion extremists seeking to control the bodies of pregnant people are coming for our right to access birth control and gender-affirming care, marry who we love, and vote.”
“While the ACLU will do everything in our power to block these bans in the courts, we are not stopping there. We are mobilizing people in the streets and taking this fight to the ballot box to hold our elected officials accountable. Politicians who do not believe in protecting the civil rights and liberties of their constituents have no business in governors’ mansions, in state attorneys general’s offices, on state supreme court benches, or in state legislatures. The path to taking back our rights is long, but the ACLU of Oklahoma will be there every step of the way until we all have the power to make the best decisions for ourselves and our families.”
