Statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade
Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) releases the below statement following the decision from the United States Supreme Court in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating a 49-year precedent for the constitutional right to abortion:
“Today’s disgraceful decision is devastating for everyone, but its harm will fall hardest on Black, brown and Indigenous people, young people, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, people with disabilities, and low-income communities. The consequences of overturning a 49-year precedent affirming our constitutional right to abortion care will be deadly.
In 1973, the leading cause of death for Black women was sepsis from unsafe abortions. At a time of rising Black maternal mortality and intimate partner violence, experts are estimating that abortion bans will result in a 33% increase in maternal deaths among Black individuals. Homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant people and Black women are at the greatest risk. Today’s decision could be a death sentence for those in need of equitable access to abortion care.
Within minutes of this far-right extremist Supreme Court decision, Missouri became the first state to enact its trigger ban and outlaw abortion care – with no exceptions for rape or incest. The attack on reproductive rights and abortion care is a public health emergency, and without action, it will further endanger the lives of our most marginalized communities.
In states like Missouri, I worry about the people that will be left behind by outright abortion bans who are struggling to make ends meet and who may not have the economic resources to cross state borders. Abortion care is still available and we need to direct people to resources that will allow them to safely access it.
What we’re witnessing today is coercion and control by our nation’s highest court, and I won’t sit back quietly. We will continue to organize. We will protest. We will keep fighting because abortion care is health care. We will not stop until we ensure that every person has access to the health care that they need.”