The decision in Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organization marked the end of half a century of bodily autonomy for half the US population—the reversal of Roe vs Wade—removing the Constitutional right to abortion and the legal assurance of basic reproductive freedoms for women all across America. As we mark the one-year anniversary of Dobbs, a decision powered by a Supreme Court handpicked to ensure such an outcome, it is clear that Dobbs was not an ending—it was only the beginning. The beginning of an unyielding assault on reproductive rights in every corner of America.
We are rapidly becoming a nation of “haves” and “have nots” when it comes to abortion access, as this image suggests:
According to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks state-level abortion legislation, in 2022 alone, state legislators introduced 563 provisions to restrict access to abortion, and 50 of those restrictions were signed into law within the year. Some states have moved to protect abortion rights, and tellingly, though nearly 200 more abortion restrictions were introduced in 2022, states passed 27 more protections than restrictions and protection of abortion rights was on the ballot in six states— reflecting the fact that a strong majority of Americans support the freedom to bodily autonomy.
This battle is far from over. New Jersey has strong legal protections for reproductive rights. We have strong gun laws, too. But following last year’s US Supreme Court decision (Bruen) that deemed our gun laws in violation of the Second Amendment, New Jerseyans with permits are now free to concealed-carry handguns at beaches, public parks, bars and restaurants. Does that make you feel safer?
If our courts can decimate our gun laws, then our reproductive rights protections are just as at risk, despite what NJ law says.
Don’t expect much help on that front from our Congressman, Tom Kean, Jr. His infamous hidden web page that came to light in the run-up to the 2022 election declares that Kean is a "fierce defender of the sanctity of life, fighting every step of the way to protect the unborn from egregious abortion laws proposed in New Jersey, and will continue to do so in Congress." In January 2022, Kean voted against a New Jersey bill known as the “Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act,” which affirmed abortion as a right in New Jersey. Kean says he voted no, even though he describes himself as “pro-choice,” because the act did not restrict late-term abortions, a procedure only used in extremely rare cases.
Kean infamously tied himself in knots over the issue in the one “debate” he had with Tom Malinowski in 2022, before affirming his “pro choice” position as a supporter of a 20-week abortion ban. That is the opposite of “pro choice.” To be pro-choice is to believe that however complicated the issue of abortion may be, women should make the decision with their families and their doctors, not the government.
We need a Congressional Representative who is an unabashed champion of reproductive rights, someone who can speak out in the way that Governor Gretchen Whitmer did in Michigan when she said: “The most compelling economic decision a woman will make in her lifetime is whether and when to have a child.” And if you take a job in Michigan and you don't have that right anymore, that's gonna be a hard sell for us to say Michigan is a place where you should come and make your life.”
What’s true for Michigan is true for New Jersey!
Stand up for reproductive rights and come to the FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS BRUNCH on June 24th! Sue Altman, Jill LaZare (acting President of NOW NJ) and Elizabeth Talmont (Chief Project Officer at Planned Parenthood NJ) will be speaking.
Democracy is not a state. It’s an act, and each generation must do its part… — John Lewis
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