WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Alito’s leaked draft striking down Roe v. Wade gives Republicans in state legislatures the green light to not only completely ban abortion without any exceptions, but potentially outlaw IUDs, Plan B, and other popular and effective forms of contraception on the grounds of extremist “fetal personhood” legal reasoning. A Republican committee chairman in Idaho expressed support for hearings for legislation that would ban emergency contraception. In Louisiana, Republicans went one step further, moving a bill through committee last week that grants personhood rights “from the moment of fertilization,” not only designating abortion as a homicide but potentially restricting the use of invitro fertilization and emergency contraceptives as well.
“The GOP has opened pandora’s box, unleashing a potentially draconian reality where safe and effective forms of birth control are banned,” said DLCC President Jessica Post. “State Republicans are attacking the right to self-determination and the fundamental freedom to decide what happens in your own life. While Republican extremism splinters the GOP and isolates moderate voters, state Democrats are fighting on the front lines across the country to codify abortion protections and oppose bad Republican bills.”
This year, state Democrats in Vermont, Connecticut, and Maryland have taken important steps to enshrine abortion protections into state law. The DLCC is helping Democrats protect these crucial gains, putting state Democrats in a position to hold Democratic chambers while going on offense against vulnerable GOP-held majorities where extremist Republicans actively threaten reproductive freedom. To centralize these efforts, the DLCC has launched the “States to Save Roe” campaign to help Democrats fight growing Republican extremism and strengthen the Democratic firewall for reproductive health care.
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