Supreme Court ruling could have devastating consequences for DC families

We knew this moment was coming, but that doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking.  

Every day we fight to ensure that the children and families we serve have real choices, with access to all the resources they need to build the lives they want – a good education, strong families, quality health care. Every day we see the pain and suffering caused when those choices are denied outright or effectively made futile without necessary support.
   
Today’s ruling is a direct attack on choice, privacy and civil rights – and the communities with the least resources will bear the brunt of the Supreme Court’s decision.
  
Americans in more than half of the states just saw or are at risk of having their reproductive rights disappear. And the Court’s decision is so broad, state legislatures could use it in the coming months to attack access to many reproductive health choices including the morning after pill, IUDs and in vitro fertilization.
 
Abortion is still legal in DC, but that’s also in jeopardy. Despite having a strongly pro-choice population, the District is subject to federal control without the protection of statehood. We’re governed at the whim of Congress. They could choose to ban abortion in DC, and we would have no way to stop it.

Children’s Law Center will continue to do everything we can to support DC families, healthcare providers and advocacy partners who will undoubtedly face new challenges as a result of this decision. To our partners and supporters who are already fighting for abortion rights in DC and across the country, we stand with you. To those leading the way on DC statehood, we stand with you. To the youth and families we serve who worry what this means for your choice and your freedoms, we stand with you – and will continue to advocate with you.  

In solidarity, 
Judith Sandalow
Executive Director