Anti-abortion groups and extremist allies in Congress have hatched a strategy to pursue a nationwide six-week ban on abortion following an expected U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to recent reporting by The Washington Post.

“Leading antiabortion groups and their allies in Congress have been meeting behind the scenes to plan a national strategy that would kick in if the Supreme Court rolls back abortion rights this summer,” the Post reported — “including a push for a strict nationwide ban on the procedure if Republicans retake power in Washington.”

The groups and politicians participating in the reported deliberations have made plain what we have long known: Their goal is to outlaw abortion in every state, period. They envision a terrifying future where no matter where you live, politicians and judges have control over your body,your life, and your future.

A Crisis Moment for National Abortion Access

Politicians have engaged in a decades-long, coordinated effort to control our bodies and our futures — and have redoubled their efforts in recent years. In 2022 alone, anti-abortion politicians have introduced over 500 abortion restrictions in 42 states.

The Supreme Court appears poised to soon overturn the constitutional right to abortion guaranteed for nearly a half-century — since 1973 — by Roe v. Wade. If this happens, 26 states will likely quickly move to ban abortion. That means 36 million women — nearly half of the women of reproductive age (between 18 and 49) in the United States — would lose abortion access, along with many other people who can become pregnant.

Even with Roe in place, the right to an abortion is a right in name only for millions of people. Since September 2021, access to abortion has essentially vanished in Texas, where the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed a six-week ban that flagrantly ignores Roe v. Wade to remain in effect. Elsewhere, systemic barriers and abortion restrictions have targeted Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities, as well people with low incomes.

Banning abortion does not end the need for access. The past eight months in Texas have provided a glimpse of what’s to come — as patients flee the state for care, seek abortion outside of the health care system, or remain pregnant against their will. This is the reality the anti-abortion movement wants for the entire country. 

We’re Fighting Back

This moment in the fight for sexual and reproductive rights requires all of us to come together and boldly defend our freedoms. Politicians have no business in our personal medical decisions; they shouldn’t control our bodies or our lives.

That’s why Planned Parenthood political and advocacy organizations, together with NARAL Pro-Choice America and EMILY’s List, plan to spend a historic amount in the 2022 midterm elections — when champions of reproductive freedom will contest offices up and down the ballot.

Abortion bans and restrictions are deeply unpopular with Americans: A recent Washington Post-ABC poll found that 75% of people say decisions on abortion should be left to the woman and her doctor, including 95% of Democrats, 81% of independents and 53% of Republicans. A Gallup poll confirms that 80% of the American public think abortion should remain legal.

It’s time to fight. The politicians who would take away the rights of millions need to hear from all of us, loud and clear: BANS OFF OUR BODIES.