Press Release Nevada
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona Responds to Report That Supreme Court Will Overturn Roe v. Wade in Draft Opinion
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 4, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
Phoenix — Following reports that a majority of Supreme Court justices are planning to strike down Roe v. Wade and allow states to ban abortion in the coming months, NARAL Pro-Choice America Southwest Regional Director Caroline Mello Roberson released the following statement:
“The right to determine if, when, and how to raise a family is in unprecedented jeopardy in Arizona. The shocking leak of a draft majority opinion in the Jackson Women’s Health case is the most alarming and ominous sign yet of what’s to come for the future of abortion rights and access in the United States, especially in Arizona where we have a total criminal ban on abortion that was enacted before Roe v. Wade was decided. NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona and our members across the state will be working around the clock to hold anti-choice Arizona lawmakers accountable for their role in pushing their extreme ideological agenda at the expense of our freedom and well-being. We must elect leaders who will reflect the values of the 9 in 10 Arizonans who believe that each of us should have the freedom to decide if, when, and how we decide to start or grow a family, free from political interference.”
This shocking and unprecedented leak follows multiple other signals that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case that recognized the constitutional right to abortion. Abortion care is already almost entirely out of reach in states like Texas, where a vigilante-enforced law banning abortion as early as six weeks of pregnancy has rendered Roe meaningless in the state.
Should Roe fall, 28 states—including Arizona—are poised to take action to prohibit abortion outright. Of those, 13 states already have “trigger bans” in place, which would ban abortion automatically if Roe is overturned. These bans and attacks on abortion access fall hardest on those most marginalized, including people of color, LGBTQ people, people with low incomes, and those in rural communities. Pregnant people in Arizona are predicted to see a 2,175% increase in driving distance when seeking abortion care out of state.
NARAL Pro-Choice America has already begun ramping up its work to elect candidates up and down the ballot who will take bold action to safeguard and expand abortion rights. Earlier this week, NARAL announced a partnership with Planned Parenthood Action Fund and EMILY’s List to collectively spend a historic $150 million on the 2022 midterms to elect reproductive freedom candidates.
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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.