Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana's Medically Unnecessary Abortion Restriction
Contact: Contact: Jacquelyn Marrero, [email protected], 646-642-6682
For Immediate Release: June 29, 2020 (Updated: June 29, 2020, 1:59 p.m.)
New York – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a victory for abortion rights in Louisiana and across the country. In a 5-4 decision in June Medical Services v. Russo, the Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s abortion restriction is unconstitutional and would have imposed medically unnecessary laws that burden a person’s right to safe, legal abortion.
Access to safe, legal abortion in Louisiana is protected for now, but attacks on our reproductive rights continue. Sixteen other cases on abortion access are still one step away from the Supreme Court — and any one of them opens the door to restrict or nullify Roe v. Wade altogether. Had the court allowed the Louisiana restriction to stand, over 850,000 women of reproductive age in Louisiana — a quarter of whom are Black women — would find abortion virtually inaccessible. There can be no reproductive freedom until there is freedom to live without fear of policies that chip away at the ability to control their bodies, lives, and futures.
Statement from Planned Parenthood of Greater New York Action Fund:
Today the Supreme Court reaffirmed what we’ve long known — it is unconstitutional to restrict abortion access. This victory for Louisianans is truly a victory for people across the country of reproductive age. But the onslaught of attacks on our access to health care and our safety are far from over. Too many people — particularly people of color who are burdened with the reality of systemic racism and health care inequality — live in a world where vital abortion care is nearly unattainable. Planned Parenthood of Greater New York Action Fund is committed to partnering with reproductive justice and rights organizations who are leading the work on the ground so that reproductive health care is not limited to a privileged few. Abortion is essential. Abortion is health care.
In 2019, New York State codified the protections of Roe v. Wade in state law when lawmakers passed the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), guaranteeing a person’s right to safe, legal abortion regardless of federal restrictions.
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The Planned Parenthood of Greater New York Action Fund is the advocacy arm of PPGNY. The Planned Parenthood of Greater New York Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including issue advocacy, voter education, and grassroots organizing to promote Planned Parenthood's mission. The Planned Parenthood of Greater New York Action Fund is a non-partisan, non-profit organization affiliated with Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.