Group reiterates commitment to standing up for access to reproductive care, electing leaders who value our right to choose
ATLANTA — Today, Fair Fight released a statement responding to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which has upended a half century of precedent, terminating federal protection over a woman’s right to choose, and allowing basic human rights and access to critical health care services to be determined by each state’s legislature.
Fair Fight Executive Director Cianti Stewart-Reid released the following statement:
“Today’s Dobbs decision was heavily anticipated, but nevertheless it is painful to watch our country take a giant leap backwards, in direct opposition to our voices and our votes.
The Supreme Court of the United States upended a half century of precedent and unraveled federal protections for those seeking access to reproductive health care. Let’s be clear: the lives of vulnerable pregnant people are now on the line because of the far-right’s desire for power over our freedom to make decisions about our own bodies–all part of an agenda to marginalize, disempower, and punish. And this is especially true for women of color and folks in low income and rural communities.
This decision touches every corner of our country—and Georgians in particular will feel its immediate impacts as Brian Kemp’s draconian 2019 abortion ban, HB 481, will likely go into effect in a matter of weeks. Instead of focusing on the state’s growing healthcare crises—including the country’s worst Black maternal mortality rate, extreme doctor and nurse shortages, and the half a million Georgians who lack access to basic healthcare because of his refusal to expand Medicaid—Kemp has focused instead on attacking Georgians’ freedoms by banning access to abortion after six weeks, before many people even know they’re pregnant.
We will not let Brian Kemp and his ilk drown out our voices and our demands that we be able to determine our own futures. Their blatant disregard for human beings, our care, our safety, and our freedom is the rallying cry that brings us together, and gives us the strength to push forward to a better tomorrow. Georgians must take action this November, and make clear that extremists like Brian Kemp seek only to marginalize us for their own gain and callous grasp of power. In this pivotal moment, voters want and deserve to see leaders who care about them—like Stacey Abrams, who embraces the values of the communities she serves and will fight to ensure Georgians can access the care they need.
Across the state, we will continue mobilizing Georgians to hold Brian Kemp and his fellow anti-choice lawmakers accountable on Election Day. We know voting does not immediately solve all the ills of our society. So when words do not do us justice and our leaders fail us, we turn to each other. The Dobbs decision highlights the further need for grassroots organizations who are doing the work in their communities to provide resources and support that will always be necessary no matter what the law says.
In dark moments like these, we must remember and be guided by the country that we can be, not the wrenching flaws that a select few with disproportionate and undue influence over our bodies and our freedoms have displayed. Together as Americans and Georgians we must stand and demand once again that our elected leaders serve us, and provide us the basic care and decency we deserve. Fair Fight is devastated by today’s decision, but steps forward into this moment with a resolve to organize in tandem with our allies and those communities most heavily impacted by this decision as we fight to protect all of our freedoms.”
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