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Press Release - May 3, 2022
AccessBC Campaign Response to Leaked Draft SCOTUS Opinion Overturning Roe V. Wade
The AccessBC Campaign releases the following statement in light of worrying news relating to reproductive justice from the USA. A leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) indicates that the court is preparing to rule in favour of a Mississippi case over whether the state can outlaw nearly all abortions at and after 15 weeks gestation. This would have the effect of overturning the 1973 ruling in Roe v Wade that protects a pregnant person’s right to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.
“The news that the US Supreme Court could overturn Roe v Wade is deeply troubling. We need to channel our feelings of outrage, frustration and horror into action and fight back against the forces of misogyny that would strip a person of their most basic right to bodily autonomy,” said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Chair and Co-Founder of the AccessBC Campaign. “Now, more than ever, it is critical that we stand in solidarity and support US activists fighting for reproductive justice and that we take action here at home. This is yet another reason why British Columbia needs to step up and show people that we are tearing down barriers to reproductive health services.”
“While access to contraceptives remains imperative, abortion rights are essential for bodily autonomy,” said Ruth Habte, AccessBC Campaign Coordinator and OBGYN Resident Physician. “Criminalizing abortion in any form serves to harm the most vulnerable. We stand in solidarity with US activists and continue to advocate for reproductive justice both at home and abroad.”
“What's happening in the United States with Roe v. Wade is terrible,” said Kennadie Chaudhary, Master of Science in Global Health and AccessBC Campaign Coordinator. “To be moving backward in time is a horrific notion and everything AccessBC stands against. Now is the time for Canada to show that we believe in reproductive justice, and B.C. can be that a beacon of hope. I call on the Province of British Columbia to make good on their promise to provide universal no-cost contraception, and stand with those affected by the reproductive injustices that we are seeing in the USA.”
“People across BC continue to face barriers when trying to access sexual and reproductive health services, whether it is people in rural and remote communities struggling to travel to a clinic to access an abortion, gestational limits on abortion, or the high cost of prescription contraception. We need a provincial government committed to reproductive justice and there is work to be done,” said Phelps Bondaroff. “At a time like this we need hope and action! The AccessBC Campaign is calling on the provincial government to fulfil its promise to make all prescription contraception free, which will help make British Columbia a beacon of hope for reproductive justice.”
“We must protect abortion access now and always. Abortion is normal, abortion is healthcare, abortion is sacred. The systems of oppression that work to hinder abortion access anywhere are threats to reproductive healthcare access everywhere,” said Emily Wiesenthal, medical student and AccessBC Campaign volunteer. “In addition to supporting organizations in the United States, people looking for ways to help should visit our website, AccessBC.org, where it takes seconds to write their MLA to ask them to make all prescription contraception in our province free.”
