Friday, June 24, 2022
Gender Justice League Board & Staff
Today the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade, ruling an end to the constitutional right to abortion. As trans and gender diverse people, we are intimately familiar with the terror and devastation unleashed when court rulings, legislation, and ballot measures are used to attack our bodies and personal healthcare decisions.
This is the first time in U.S. history that the Supreme Court has taken away a constitutional right. With abortion legality now a state-by-state decision, tens of millions of people will lose access to safe abortions: disproportionately Black and brown, immigrant, Disabled, queer, and trans people who cannot travel out of state, take time off work, or afford healthcare. We firmly believe that all people should have access to safe, free, and unrestricted healthcare, human rights, and safety—no matter who we are or where we live.
The repeal of Roe v. Wade will have immediate, dire impacts on all pregnant people across the country—including in Washington State. Neighboring states like Idaho have laws that will immediately outlaw abortion now that Roe v. Wade has been repealed—placing an extreme burden both on pregnant people in those states, and on abortion providers and abortion access funds in Washington State.
We share your fear and worry, and we want you to know that we will never stop fighting for the bodily autonomy of all people or our rights to decide if, how, and when to have a family. This is our moment to fuel our collective rage into a committed, unified movement to ensure all people have the right to make decisions about our own bodies, free from state control or interference.
For nearly 10 years, Gender Justice League has worked in coalition with our colleagues at Legal Voice, Planned Parenthood, ALCU of Washington, NARAL, and dozens of other organizations to ensure people throughout the Northwest have access to the life-saving medical care we need—be it abortions; long-term contraception; gender-affirming and transition-related healthcare; and HIV and STI testing, treatment, and prevention methods. We will continue to partner and fight relentlessly to uphold the universal human rights of all people to get the healthcare we need.
Calls to action:
- We encourage all our supporters to consider joining us in donating to the national network of abortion access funds, providing funds to pregnant people in states directly impacted by this ruling.
- For those local to Seattle, join us in protest tonight at 5 PM at the Federal Building.
- Sign up for our email list to learn more about Gender Justice League’s soon-to-be-announced National Program and advocacy efforts.
For Press Inquiries:
Danni Askini, Co-Executive Director, National Programs
danni@genderjusticeleague.org / 1-206-659-1506