Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey calls on state legislators to pass a resolution in support of safe, legal abortion
 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND OF NEW JERSEY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

September 24, 2018

Contact: Casey Olesko 973-775-2781 / [email protected]

Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey calls on state legislators to pass a resolution in support of safe, legal abortion

TRENTON, NJ – Today, the New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee passed SR96/AR181 by a vote of 5-1-1.  This resolution officially supports safe, legal abortion and opposes President Trump’s nominee to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. The resolution also calls on Congress and the Trump administration to “remove any restrictions on access to abortion including insurance coverage for women enrolled in public insurance programs.” New Jersey supporters of reproductive rights are urging their elected officials to take a stand for health care access.

“With this resolution, New Jerseyans are sending a message loud and clear to the rest of the country: we will not stand for a Supreme Court nominee who seeks to restrict women’s rights,” said Triste Brooks of Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey. “New Jersey’s elected leaders are committed to upholding a woman’s right to reproductive health care, including equitable access to abortion and birth control.”

With the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, the right to access safe and legal abortion is on the line. Without access to safe and legal abortion, women’s health and lives will be at risk. Judge Kavanaugh cannot be trusted to support women’s reproductive health, as he has proven throughout his career and during his nomination proceedings that he does not respect women’s rights to control their own bodies.  Not only did President Trump state that he would only appoint biased judges who would, in his words, “automatically” overturn Roe v. Wade, Judge Kavanaugh has already ruled to limit access to safe and legal abortion in his career. Just last year, he attempted to use his judicial power to prevent a young, undocumented woman in US custody from accessing a safe, legal abortion. Leaked emails also show that Judge Kavanaugh believes precedent like Roe v. Wade can be overruled. And with the recent serious allegations of sexual violence committed by Judge Kavanaugh, he is simply unfit to serve on the highest court in the land.

Combined with ongoing attacks by the Trump-Pence administration on reproductive health care, including efforts to dismantle the Title X program and cut off access to preventive family planning services across the county, women’s health is at risk at the federal level. New Jersey, as a state, has made great strides in supporting women’s health care by restoring family planning funding and ensuring Medicaid coverage for all reproductive health care, including abortion and birth control. To continue on this path, Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey (PPAFNJ) and its supporters are calling on the full State Legislature to vote in favor of the resolution in support of safe, legal abortion. While legal abortion is already the law of the land in New Jersey, women’s health advocates say it is important for the state to send a message to federal officials. The resolution is expected to be voted on by the full state legislature later this week.