The following statement was issued by American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero in response to reporting of a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade:
If the Supreme Court does indeed issue a majority opinion along the lines of the leaked draft authored by Justice Alito, the shift in the tectonic plates of abortion rights will be as significant as any opinion the Court has ever issued. It would deprive half the nation of a fundamental, constitutional right that has been enjoyed by millions of women for nearly 50 years. The breach in protocol at the Court pales in comparison to the breach in constitutional freedoms that the Court is charged with upholding. However the decision ultimately comes down, the ACLU will never stop fighting for a person’s right to choose when and if to have a child.
The statement can be found at:
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-comment-reporting-leaked-scotus-opinion-overturning-roe
On a similar note, below is a statement inspired by Chapter Leader Nancy Pemberton of the Sonoma County Chapter:
Fifty years ago, the United States Supreme Court finally did the right thing for women and families by ruling that reproductive choice is a private – not a state — matter. We have watched despairingly as that choice has been eroded by subsequent SCOTUS decisions. Now, choice is meeting its final death knell. We must not stand idly by while this Supreme Court turns back the clock on women’s right to choose. This is a warning not only to women but to all in our country for it is not only reproductive rights that are at risk. Hard fought rights of people of color, LGBTQ people, and people who are lower income are being chipped away at and abetted by our current Supreme Court. We who believe in democracy and individual freedom for all need to protest loudly against these dark interests trying to steal our rights from us. Now is not the time to be quiescent.
Note: the statement inspired by Nancy Pemberton is not an official statement of the ACLU of Northern California, or of the Sonoma County Chapter.