Roe v. Wade Turns 47, Politicians Aim to Gut It

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today marks the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that guaranteed the right to abortion in the United States. Roe has never been more popular than it is today, with 77% of Americans opposed to efforts to overturn it. But it has also never been more at risk due to attacks from Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and the anti-abortion politicians who aim to severely restrict, if not outright ban, abortion in this country.

From awarding lifetime positions to extreme judges who could eliminate our reproductive rights, to supporting abortion bans before many people even know they’re pregnant, many vulnerable politicians up for re-election in November have put access to safe, legal abortion dangerously at risk.

“Roe has never been more at risk than it is at this very moment,” Jenny Lawson, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Votes, said in a prepared statement. “This isn’t happening by accident, but by design — and we can put names and faces to the politicians who got us here with every abortion ban they supported and every extreme judge they confirmed. For too long, anti-abortion lawmakers have ignored the calls of their constituents who support safe, legal abortion. It’s time to hold the Trump administration and its buddies in Congress and state legislatures accountable for their shameless attacks on reproductive health and rights. November is coming.”

Planned Parenthood Votes is an independent expenditure political committee registered with the Federal Election Commission.

At the same time as abortion bans spring up in states across the country, the Trump administration and its allies are also pushing policies to roll back access to birth control, impose gag rules on doctors, and deny patients access to Planned Parenthood health centers. As we near Election Day 2020, Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations will run multi-faceted campaigns to highlight the records of politicians who have put reproductive rights at risk.

President Donald Trump put two justices on the Supreme Court with anti-abortion records, jeopardized affordable birth control and other reproductive health care with the Title X and global gag rules, and called for an abortion ban on the campaign trail and said “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions — to name just a few of the attacks.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) ignored the calls of Mainers and multiple allegations from survivors and instead stood with Mitch McConnell when she voted for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, putting Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to safe and legal abortion at risk.

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) voted 11 times to cut off patient access to Planned Parenthood health centers, which could put reproductive health care services in jeopardy across the country.

Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) said she would support a ban on abortion and praised the Trump administration for its “pro-life” agenda.

John James, a challenger candidate running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, pledged to “fight until we end abortion” and said he would be support Roe v. Wade being overturned.

Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL-03), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) joined more than 200 extreme anti-abortion politicians in filing a court brief urging the Supreme Court to consider overturning the right to safe and legal abortion established in Roe v. Wade.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is completely out of touch with the lives and decisions of North Carolinians, calling abortion a “terrible tragedy.”

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), Georgia’s newly-sworn in U.S. senator, cosponsored three anti-abortion Republican bills as one of her first acts in office.

Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) this month introduced a bill called the “Abortion is Not Healthcare Act,” a dangerous piece of legislation intended to further stigmatize abortion and make it as costly as possible.

Gov. Mike Parson (R-MO) signed a law banning abortion before most people know they’re pregnant, and his health department investigated the menstrual cycles of Missouri abortion patients to further his political agenda against abortion.