Statement Of Jeff And Tricia Raikes On Roe V. Wade

The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is devastating. It takes away the fundamental right to determine when and if to become a parent - a hallmark of self-determination for women across our country.

This decision harms women. It constrains freedom and undermines the dignity of women everywhere. This decision most impacts black, brown, poor women, and pregnant people. On average, these women lack access to high levels of health care, secure jobs, and support for their wellbeing, childcare, and other needs. Our health care system and economy do not work as well for women of color as they do for their affluent white women peers.

Women will suffer almost immediately. Dozens of states will begin the process of either outlawing abortion outright or severely limiting who can access it. A patchwork of rules will emerge. Whether a woman can exercise true freedom will depend on her zip code, her employer's health insurance, her income or wealth, and other essential family supports. Accessing reproductive health care and support will be a non-starter for many.

This is not the future most Americans want. A majority of the American people support women's freedom and fundamental right to access reproductive health care. Even more oppose the onerous restrictions at issue in the Supreme Court's decision. This decision is another example that many of our nation's most powerful institutions are swiftly moving in an anti-democratic direction. Decades of precedent have been thrown out. Women today will now enjoy fewer rights and freedoms compared to an older generation of leaders who fought for reproductive freedoms.

We must ensure that all women have fundamental rights, freedoms, and dignity. Reproductive care is far from the only critical policy area in which the desires of a broad majority of Americans are being overlooked in favor of the minority at the Supreme Court and elsewhere. This playbook will be run in statehouses and courts across the country. A faction of Americans is clear in its desire to diminish the rights and freedoms of women and people of color. We will do our part to support advocacy, peaceful protest, organizing, and public awareness to protect the gains in freedoms and equal citizenship that Americans have achieved in the past 50 years. Your fundamental human rights should not depend on where you live.

Today is a day for outrage and grieving. Tomorrow, we must all get back in the fight. We stand at the ready to do everything we can to protect those whom the Supreme Court has targeted this term and build a democracy that reflects the will of its people.