24 Jun SCOTUS Abortion Decision Unleashes Dangerous Government Control Over Women’s Bodies, Says Co-Counsel Mississippi Center for Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2022
Contact: comms-mcj@rabengroup.com
SCOTUS Abortion Decision Unleashes Dangerous Government Control Over Women’s Bodies, Says Co-Counsel Mississippi Center for Justice
Jackson, MS – Today in Dobbs v. Jackson, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its entirety, enabling states to outlaw abortion.
Vangela M. Wade, president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Justice — which served as co-counsel on the case – said:
“It’s the day we all feared. Today, the Supreme Court has ruled that the government gets to decide whether and when a woman has a child. Now, states across the nation will ban abortion, entirely destroying women’s ability to control their own bodies. It’s abusive, dangerous, and unconstitutional.
“This is a dark day. The right to choose is absolutely essential. Only the woman knows her physical and mental health, her job, her income, and how much more she can or cannot bear. She is also the only person who knows whether her partner will be supportive, will abandon her, or will abuse her and her child. She, not a politician, needs the autonomy to decide whether to move forward with a pregnancy.
“It’s particularly infuriating to me that self-proclaimed ‘pro-life’ policymakers are celebrating this decision. Across Mississippi and this country, people are struggling to access basic needs, like food, shelter, health care, and education. And yet, so many lawmakers refuse to provide it. It’s shameful for these people to claim to be ‘pro-life’ while they sit by idly and watch their constituents suffer.”
Rob McDuff, Director of Impact Litigation at the Mississippi Center for Justice said:
“A majority of the United States Supreme Court has overruled 50 years of precedent and said that states can force women to bear children against their will. In this nation that calls itself ‘the land of the free,’ five Supreme Court justices have turned back the clock and stolen freedom from women to make their own decisions about when life begins and whether and when to bear a child. Instead, those decisions now belong to a majority of each state legislature, many of which will force women to abide by its will and not their own. This is a shameful day in the history of this country and of the Supreme Court.”
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The Mississippi Center for Justice is dedicated to dismantling the state’s culture of inequity and injustice. Support and staffed by attorneys and other professionals, the Center pursues strategies to combat discrimination and poverty statewide.