{"id":1794,"date":"2022-06-24T19:05:51","date_gmt":"2022-06-25T02:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nlg.org\/los-angeles\/?p=1794"},"modified":"2022-06-24T19:06:17","modified_gmt":"2022-06-25T02:06:17","slug":"nlgla-statement-against-overturning-roe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nlg.org\/los-angeles\/2022\/06\/24\/nlgla-statement-against-overturning-roe\/","title":{"rendered":"National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles Statement Against Overturning Roe v. Wade and in Support of Comprehensive Reproductive Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"

National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles (NLG LA) strongly condemns today\u2019s decision by the United States Supreme Court in <\/span>Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/span><\/i> (Docket No. 19-1392) to overturn <\/span>Roe v. Wade<\/span><\/i>, the 1973 case protecting people\u2019s autonomy in seeking an abortion, as well as <\/span>Planned Parenthood v. Casey<\/span><\/i>. Furthermore, we urgently denounce the abortion bans triggered in various states by the <\/span>Dobbs<\/span><\/i> decision. <\/span><\/p>\n

We staunchly support the long-established rights to privacy, bodily autonomy, and medical care, and oppose the criminalization of reproductive decision-making. Our organization\u2019s fundamental belief in maintaining abortion legalization is what compelled NLG to join an amicus brief on this very Supreme Court case.<\/span><\/p>\n

The court opinion itself implies extensive consequences for gay marriage, interracial marriage, and contraception access, all of which were decided on the same basis of a right to privacy. These efforts are not unrelated; they are all part of a coordinated, fascist effort to expand state control over marginalized people\u2019s bodies, a project that has and will continue to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color; sex workers; immigrants; queer, disabled, and\/or low-income people; and folks in rural areas with fewer options for medical care, especially in states controlled by conservative legislatures.<\/span><\/p>\n

This regressive decision on <\/span>Roe v. Wade <\/span><\/i>is more evidence that our current systems of law do not exist to protect people. Though the NLG LA hopes that this decision will be mitigated by federal-level affirmative legislation around abortion rights, we also thoroughly understand that the U.S. judicial and legislative offices cannot and will not liberate us and our communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

We urge those newly engaging in abortion access advocacy to look to the leadership of long-time reproductive justice organizers. Reproductive justice activism has been ongoing for generations, predominantly envisioned, implemented, and led by Black women. The networks and knowledge cultivated by decades of organizing are and will remain an indispensable part of creating genuinely equitable and just abortion access; it is urgent that new activists support these efforts rather than co-opting them. Below, we\u2019ve included more resources on reproductive justice organizations that you can support and learn more from.<\/span><\/p>\n

Resources for folks looking to <\/span>offer<\/b> support:<\/span><\/p>\n