Tennessee, Idaho, and Texas Enact Trigger Bans

By Melissa Fowler | August 25, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 25, 2022CONTACT: [email protected] Today, Tennessee, Idaho, and Texas will implement draconian abortion trigger bans, outlawing nearly all abortions in all three states. Although abortion is restricted in these states already, today they will enact near-total bans, or in Texas’ case, create harsher punishments for those who violate the law. Statement from…

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Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade

By Melissa Fowler | June 24, 2022

For Immediate Release: June 24, 2022Media Contacts: Claire Connolly; [email protected]  Statement from Melissa Fowler, National Abortion Federation’s Chief Program Officer: “The Supreme Court’s decision to end the constitutional right to abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs case is abhorrent. Today’s decision confirms the worst-case scenario that reproductive rights advocates have been bracing…

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Supreme Court Abandons People in Texas

By Melissa Fowler | September 2, 2021

For Immediate Release: September 2, 2021Media Contacts: [email protected]; 202-918-7768 Statement of The Very Reverend Katherine Ragsdale, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF): Late last night, the Supreme Court dealt another blow to people in Texas when they denied an emergency request to block an extreme abortion ban that went into effect yesterday in…

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Remembering John Lewis

By Melissa Fowler | July 18, 2020 |

Statement of The Very Reverend Katherine Ragsdale, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF), on the passing of Representative John Lewis: Representative John Lewis was a hero: a man of courage, conviction, and wisdom; an unrelenting champion of civil rights, racial justice, women’s rights, and abortion rights; an exemplar who never gave up…

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U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Anti-Abortion Law

By Melissa Fowler | June 29, 2020 |

Statement of The Very Reverend Katherine Ragsdale, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) on today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June Medical Services v. Russo: We are relieved and encouraged that our member clinics in Louisiana will be able to continue providing the safe, compassionate abortion care that their patients need. People…

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National Abortion Federation Files Amicus Brief in Legal Battle Over Alabama’s COVID-19 Executive Order’s Impact on Abortion

By Melissa Fowler | April 22, 2020 |

Yesterday, the National Abortion Federation joined 20 other women’s and civil rights organizations in filing an amicus brief explaining the undue burden that Alabama’s COVID-19 Executive Order poses to abortion providers and already marginalized communities. Anti-abortion politicians in Alabama are exploiting the current global pandemic to try and deny women access to the abortion care…

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NAF Calls for End of Anti-Abortion Protesters Increasing Odds of COVID-19 Exposure

By Melissa Fowler | April 3, 2020 |

In a letter, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) has asked Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer to take action, preventing anti-abortion groups from using the guise of “worship services” to continue harassing patients and clinic staff despite the Governor’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Order. The Very Reverend Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, President and CEO of NAF: As an…

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We’re in this together.

By Melissa Fowler | December 2, 2019 |

A note from NAF’s President and CEO, The Very Reverend Katherine Ragsdale: I am sure many of you saw yesterday’s New York Times piece, “How a Divided Left is Losing the Battle on Abortion,” which raised a number of concerning and challenging issues about our movement. I spoke to this reporter for more than an…

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