Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe v Wade
June 24, 2022
Brandon Richards, Director of Communications
[email protected]
Abortion Remains Legal in California and Available at California Planned Parenthood Health Centers
California Leaders Must Continue Take Swift Action to Ensure Access to Abortion Services to All in Need
SACRAMENTO—Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) released the following statement from President/CEO Jodi Hicks in response to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v Wade—reversing nearly 50 years of precedent and eliminating the Constitutional right to abortion across the country.
“Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to take away the right to abortion is a stain in our nation’s history book that will have life-altering and life-threatening consequences for millions of people across the country,” said Jodi Hicks, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. “The extreme conservative Supreme Court Justices, for the first time, have taken away a constitutional right that the vast majority of people across the country support, and is a safe and essential health care procedure. This decision will undoubtedly hurt people who already face barriers to accessing health care and will disproportionately impact Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other people of color, people with lower incomes, people living in rural areas, LGBTQ+ people, and people in the disability community.”
“I want to be crystal clear: abortion remains legal here in California and we are working to ensure that people—regardless of where they come from—can access abortion services with as much support and as few barriers as possible,” Hicks continued. “To people across the country living in a state hostile to abortion: California is here for you. We will not turn people away, and we will find a way to support you so that you can get the care you need.”
“For the first time in my lifetime, the next generation will grow up with fewer rights than their parents had,” Hicks concluded. “We will not go quietly. We will fight this. Abortion is and will continue to a part of our nation’s history. Everyone deserves the ability to control their own bodies and their own futures. We are the overwhelming majority. And we will make sure every single politician pursuing these extreme bans and restrictions is held accountable for this disastrous and dangerous decision. Reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations cannot do this alone. California and Californians must meet this moment—millions of people are counting on us.”
Across California, 100+ Planned Parenthood health centers remain open, and continue to provide abortion services to all who need it with dignity and without judgment.
California is also ready to support and expand its abortion network to ensure equitable access to abortion services and build capacity to serve people who are forced to leave their home state for care. All California Future of Abortion Council bills are moving through the California legislature right now. This legislative package, in addition to the $100+ million investment announced earlier by Governor Gavin Newsom as part of his budget “May Revise,” build off the 45 recommendations put forward in their report issued in December. California leaders are working quickly to explicitly enshrine the right to abortion and contraception in the state constitution right now.
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Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) is the state public policy office representing California’s seven separately incorporated Planned Parenthood affiliates. Through advocacy and electoral action, PPAC promotes sound public policy in areas of sexual and reproductive health care and sex education.