Press Release Michigan
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Responds to Reporting that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will Retire
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
Washington, DC — Today, it has been widely reported that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer plans to retire after serving on the Court for more than two decades.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju released the following statement in response:
“Justice Breyer has been a force for justice and reproductive freedom in his tenure on the Supreme Court, and it’s critical that President Biden nominate a justice to replace him who reflects the diversity of our nation and is committed to upholding the constitutional right to abortion. We are excited about President Biden’s pledge to nominate the first Black woman Supreme Court justice. The news of Breyer’s retirement comes at a critical moment in the fight for our fundamental rights and freedoms, with the Court considering a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade that could end the constitutional right to abortion. The future of reproductive freedom in our country is in peril, and the Supreme Court must continue to safeguard our rights and freedoms.”
In the next few months, the anti-choice supermajority on the Supreme Court will issue a ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case regarding Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban that directly challenges Roe and could end the constitutional right to abortion. There is no middle ground; upholding Mississippi’s ban will end Roe’s protections.
If the Mississippi law is upheld in this case, it will open the floodgates for anti-choice lawmakers in states to take immediate action to ban abortion. Should Roe fall, 28 states would likely take action to prohibit abortion outright. Of those, 12 states already have “trigger bans” in place, which would ban abortion automatically. The consequences of overturning Roe would be devastating for pregnant people and families, and it will send shockwaves to all corners of the country.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion