Statement: leaked draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade

Yesterday, a draft decision leaked that indicates the Supreme Court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade. Chief John Roberts has indicated that the draft opinion is genuine, but it does not necessarily represent the final opinion of the Court.

We are opposed to the decades-long Republican effort to eliminate any trace of legal abortion. The Republican Party’s position is extreme, out of line with the public, and will lead to enormous hardship for some of the most vulnerable women in our country who already face the most difficulty getting access to quality healthcare.

If this decision goes through, at least thirteen Republican controlled states have ‘trigger laws’ which will automatically go into effect and ban virtually all abortions. In nine of those states, there would not even be exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

The released draft is also remarkably radical in its doctrine. It clearly indicates a bridge between overturning Roe and overturning cases like Obergefell v. Hodges and Lawrence v. Texas which legalized same sex marriage and intimacy.

If given the chance, Republicans and Republican appointed justices would take us back generations to a world without any reproductive or sexual freedom. Bodily autonomy and the right to control one’s own sexual and reproductive future are fundamental to a liberal society. The Neoliberal Project opposes this decision and condemns Republican efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade.

We call on state governments to overturn their trigger laws and state and federal legislators to protect reproductive rights.

The Center for New Liberalism is a network of over eighty chapters and tens of thousands of individuals worldwide working to advance a liberal society. We analyze policy proposals, mobilize our network to support those proposals, build alliances with like-minded groups, and establish strong relationships with local, state and federal elected officials.

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Media Contact: Colin Mortimer; colin@cnliberalism.org