For Immediate Release: December 10, 2021
Media Contacts: press@prochoice.org; 202-918-7768
Statement of Talcott Camp, JD, Chief Legal & Strategy Officer of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) on the Supreme Court decisions in United States v. Texas and Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson:
Today, the Supreme Court turned its back on its own precedent and the Constitution by allowing the Texas abortion ban to remain in effect. As Justice Sotomayor wrote in her dissent in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson: “The Court should have put an end to this madness months ago, before SB 8 first went into effect. It failed to do so then, and it fails again today.”
Today’s decisions are another devastating blow to brave NAF member providers in Texas and the patients they serve, who have suffered for the last 101 days since SB 8 took effect. SB 8 is blatantly unconstitutional and designed to circumvent the courts and the Constitution to deny people access to abortion care. It is unconscionable that the Supreme Court ignored their duty and allowed this cruel law to stand.
Today’s decisions not only deprive people of their fundamental, constitutional right to abortion but undermine our system of government and the Constitution. SB 8 is not just an assault on abortion providers and patients—it opens the door for attacks on other freedoms as well. With SB 8 in effect for any amount of time, similar vigilante-enforcement laws threaten all of our constitutional rights.
The Supreme Court has once again skirted its duty to protect the Constitution and people in Texas, but NAF and our members have not. If you are in Texas and need help finding an abortion provider, you can call the NAF Hotline at 1-800-772-9100 and press “1” or visit ProtectAbortionInTexas.com.
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