NYCLU Statement: With Roe Overturned, NY Must Be an Access State

NEW YORK – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that eviscerates the rights protected by Roe v. Wade. The decision will trigger abortion bans in half of the United States overnight, despite Americans overwhelmingly believing that abortion is a fundamental right. In response, New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman issued the following statement:

“This is an attack on women and anyone in need of abortion care. This is a full-scale assault on pregnant people, their health care providers, and their support systems. This is a racial, gender and economic justice catastrophe. As half of the states in this country shamefully make forced pregnancy the law of their land, we will not stand for it in New York. We will affirm the right to abortion care and ensure access to it, no matter what.

“As federal reproductive rights vanish, New York will again be a beacon for people who need abortion care, including women, young people, transgender and gender non-conforming people. In New York today, the Reproductive Health Act protects access to abortion in our public health law. People from Mississippi to Texas are welcome here and have the right to get the vital care they need.

“Our state first opened its doors to abortion care five decades ago, and three years before the Court decided Roe. But there is more work to do to expand access for women, girls, people of color, and low-income people across the country. For New York to be a leader and an abortion access state, Albany leadership must convene a special session to pass constitutional protections through an Equality Amendment. Failing to pass these critical measures this summer is unconscionable – we must protect abortion care and ensure that anyone needing care can get it right here in New York.”

Read the NYCLU Abortion Access Roadmap here: nyabortionaccess.org