Today is a dark day for our country. June 24th will long be mourned as the date the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 decision protecting women’s right to choose. This devastating decision takes away the basic constitutional right to make decisions about their own bodies that women in our country have counted on for the past 50 years.
This decision will have disastrous consequences as many states move to swiftly ban abortion. Thirteen states already have trigger laws, meaning abortion is immediately banned, and at least that many are poised to take away this fundamental right.
The reversal of Roe v Wade is part and parcel of the extreme, radical Republican agenda to turn back the clock on reproductive rights. While a clear majority of Americans support a woman’s right to choose, a national abortion ban is on the wish list for key Republican leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
States VDP Chair Anne Lezak, “Vermonters must act swiftly and in large numbers to counteract the great harm wreaked by the Supreme Court’s decision. We must stand up for the rights of all people to privacy and the ability to make their own decisions about abortion and other deeply personal matters that affect their bodies and their lives.”
Vermont Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski said, “The Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade is unacceptable and unconscionable. I am proud of the work we’ve taken in the legislature to ensure reproductive rights will remain safe and available in this new post-Roe world. In November we must pass the Reproductive Liberty Amendment (formerly known as Prop 5) to enshrine reproductive rights in our state constitution. Democrats are doing everything we can to keep abortion accessible in Vermont and protect the rights of Vermonters to access the care they need and deserve.”
What can we do?
First, work to retain a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate. In Vermont, this means ensuring Republican Christina Nolan loses in November. Mitch McConnell headlined a MAGA-heavy Republican fundraiser for her. She publicly opposed Vermont’s reproductive liberty amendment; this was after the leaked SCOTUS memo, which made it clear that Roe v. Wade was on the verge of being overturned.
Next, consider candidates’ positions on this crucial issue as you cast your vote this fall. The Vermont Republican Party has made it clear they are on board with the extremist MAGA anti-choice agenda. The platform they adopted in May reads, “We value the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.” The VDP is supporting strongly pro-choice candidates who will fight for reproductive rights up and down the ballot.
Actively support Vermont’s reproductive liberty amendment, which will guarantee every person’s right to make their own reproductive decisions. This ballot measure comes to a vote in the general election this November. On its passage, Vermont will be the first state to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution, which matters now more than ever.
Finally, go public with your opposition to this inhumane, backwards decision. Attend rallies, write letters to the editor, share your outrage on social media and perhaps your own story of why reproductive freedom is so precious.
VDP Chair Lezak states, “We cannot sit by and let the Trump-emboldened Republican extremists erode reproductive choice and send us back to the cruel and dangerous times before Roe v Wade. We must actively fight this roll-back of fundamental rights, which is just one part of the Republican Trump-inspired agenda to interfere with people’s lives and their private decisions.”
