"The overturning of Roe v. Wade has profound public health consequences and reverses decades of progress towards gender equity. According to the CDC, family planning is ranked as one of the most significant public health achievements of the 20th century - alongside vaccinations, control of infection diseases, safer and healthier foods, and recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard.

From an equity perspective, those who can become pregnant are uniquely affected by a ruling that restricts their ability to control their own bodies and reproductive choices and denies them the ability to make healthcare decisions that are best for themselves and/or their families. The downstream health consequences of being denied access to this medical procedure are profound and disproportionately bore by those who can become pregnant. We know that pregnant people who are denied abortion are more likely to stay in abusive partnerships, suffer anxiety and loss of self-esteem, and experience poor physical health for years after the denial of abortion services. In addition, compared with pregnant people who get the abortion they seek, pregnant people who do not obtain a wanted abortion have four times greater odds of subsequently living in poverty."

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January 22, 1973, Roe v. Wade guaranteed abortion was safe and legal.

I was 14 years old.

One year later I was raped by a 32 year old man.

I became pregnant from that rape and, thanks to Roe v. Wade, was able to have a safe and legal abortion.

I am 63 years old now and I am still grateful to have had that choice. -Liz

Learn more about Roe v. Wade

Medical Mis-information by Billboard

I recently travelled through the Midwest by car. In every state I passed through that has now banned, or is considering banning abortion, I saw billboards with pictures of beautiful toddlers paired with misleading fetal development claims. A group called prolifeacrossamerica.org specializes in these billboards depicting really cute 3-12 month old babies, coupled with erroneous information about fetal development.

The Billboard says:

Heaven Sent

Smile 12 weeks from conception

The Truth is:

This is what a 12 week fetus looks like.

Babies learn to smile between 6-12 weeks after birth, in relationship with loving caregivers.

"Companies began to come out with policies on covering travel expenses for employees who need abortions in May, when a leaked memo from Supreme Court justices previewed their decision on the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This small group included Starbucks, Tesla, Yelp, Airbnb, Microsoft, Netflix, Patagonia, DoorDash, JPMorgan Chase, Levi Strauss & Co., PayPal and Reddit. Others, including Disney, Meta, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Condé Nast, joined them on Friday when the decision became final, though most of them avoided making public statements directly referencing the ruling."

Read the entire NY Times article