Key stakeholders in women's health comment on disparities in abortion access 43 years after Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood Federation of America's lawsuit against the Center for Medical Progress and more.
"A woman's ability to end her pregnancy too often depends on where she lives, her age and how much money is in her pocket." -- Marcela Howell of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda, discussing ongoing disparities in women's access to abortion care on the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. According to abortion-rights supporters, many women in the United States face more obstacles to abortion care now than they did immediately following the Roe v. Wade ruling, largely because of an increase in state restrictions on the procedure (Women's Health Policy Report, 1/20).
"This case is about a network of antiabortion extremists and the laws they broke in order to spread lies and harm Planned Parenthood." -- Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), on PPFA's federal lawsuit against the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), an antiabortion-rights group that released misleading videos targeting Planned Parenthood (Women's Health Policy Report, 1/15). A separate inquiry into the videos in Texas cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing and instead indicted two members of CMP (Women's Health Policy Report, 2/5).
"This new research shows the devastating consequences for women when politicians block access to care at Planned Parenthood." -- Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America ("Science Now," Los Angeles Times, 2/3), on a new study showing that the birth rate among low-income women who previously obtained contraception from clinics in Texas increased after the state cut funding for Planned Parenthood and family planning clinics affiliated with abortion providers (Women's Health Policy Report, 2/4).
"On the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it's time to reclaim the ruling's promise that women have a constitutional right to make reproductive health decisions that profoundly impact the economic future of their families and communities." -- columnist Atima Omara in an American Prospect opinion piece commemorating the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Citing an increasing number of abortion restrictions, Omara urges lawmakers going into the 2016 elections to remember that "[a]ccess to abortion care and other family planning services are inexorably linked with women's economic security" (Women's Health Policy Report, 1/22).
"Arkansas cannot veto a woman's decision to have an abortion, period." -- Talcott Camp of the American Civil Liberties Union's Reproductive Freedom Project, praising the Supreme Court's decision declining to review an overturned Arkansas law (Act 301) that bans abortions at 12 weeks of pregnancy (Women's Health Policy Report, 1/20).
"Despite the fact that abortion is very common, we rarely talk about our decisions to end a pregnancy ... Today we are asking the court to listen to a different conversation, one that is grounded in the lived experiences of real people." -- Julia Reticker-Flynn, campaign director for the 1 in 3 Campaign, on the organization's second annual abortion speakout. The speakout was prompted by the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, as well as the Supreme Court's forthcoming ruling on Texas' omnibus abortion law (HB 2) in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (Women's Health Policy Report, 1/20).
