Pro-Choice Advocates Affirm Commitment to Defending Reproductive Choice
Synopsis: American women face unprecedented threats to their legal right to choose. With an anti-choice White House and Congress and the potential of a Supreme Court willing to roll back 32 years of reproductive freedom, pro-choice Americans must redouble their efforts to protect the right to control their reproductive lives.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2005
On Eve of Bush Inaugural, Pro-Choice Advocates Affirm Commitment to Defending Reproductive Choice
Pro-Choice Advocates Mark 32nd Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
Statement of Melissa Kogut, Executive Director,
NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts
Boston, MA – As the eyes of the nation turn to President Bush’s inauguration – and on the eve of the historic anniversary of Roe v. Wade – pro-choice advocates are mobilizing to fight the administration’s anti-choice policies and judicial nominees whose actions will have a devastating impact on women’s health.
American women face unprecedented threats to their legal right to choose. With an anti-choice White House and Congress and the potential of a Supreme Court willing to roll back 32 years of reproductive freedom, pro-choice Americans must redouble their efforts to protect the right to control their reproductive lives. Only through vocal and active opposition to the President’s regressive policies will our rights – and as a result, women’s lives – be saved.
Women’s health advocates are also bracing for an expected ruling by the FDA on over-the-counter status for the Plan B emergency contraceptive. The FDA faces a deadline of January 20 to issue its ruling on Plan B after rejecting over-the-counter status for the “morning-after pill” last year. The controversial decision was made despite the recommendation of the FDA’s own scientific panel that found EC to be safe and effective at preventing unintended pregnancies and recommended it for over-the-counter sales.
Make no mistake: restricting abortion and limiting access to contraception will not reduce abortions, it will only make them more dangerous.
With a Supreme Court retirement looming and the prospect of a Bush nominee who opposes the protections of Roe v. Wade, this year’s Roe v. Wade anniversary is all the more poignant. On Tuesday, January 25, at noon, pro-choice advocates and legislators will gather at the State House to commemorate the landmark Supreme Court decision that extended the right to privacy to a woman’s decision to terminate her pregnancy. NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts is already mobilizing its constituency – more than 15,000 strong – to actively oppose an anti-choice nominee to the highest court. Through petitions, lobbying and public demonstrations, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts will play an active role in opposing judicial nominees who are not committed to upholding Roe.
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