06.29.2020 / Statement

Statement: The Supreme Court Has Stopped Louisiana and Other States from Over-riding the U.S. Constitution and Interfering with a Women’s Right to Choose

Washington, D.C. – Frederick Isasi, Families USA Executive Director, released the following statement applauding the Supreme Court ruling upholding a woman’s right to reproductive freedom.

Today, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the 5-4 decision, June Medical Services v. Russo, that the state of Louisiana could not impose requirements for admitting privileges on providers of abortion services. Much as it did in the 2016 ruling, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the court found such requirements created an unconstitutional burden on women seeking health care services that far outweighed any benefit to the woman argued by the state.

Our nation must be a nation that respects the relationship between a patient and her doctor and protects that relationship from inference from the state. The decision about when and how to exercise reproductive freedoms must remain in the hands of the women making the decision in consultation with her doctor. We applaud the Supreme Court for affirming this right.

But make no mistake, attacks on women’s reproductive rights play out in ways that are not limited to abortion bans. Women’s rights also include access to birth control and care that is centered on their needs.

Recent attempts to ban abortions or stymie women’s reproductive rights in other ways amount to an intentional disregard of the bedrock Constitutional principle of separation of church and state—one that serves a narrow religious agenda and erodes hard-won gains for women’s rights and health equity rather than women’s wellbeing and their inherent human rights.

America is home to many religions, many of which strongly support a woman’s right to make her own reproductive decisions. And, many individuals in our nation also belong to no religion. By design, our Constitution prohibits any religion from dictating our nation’s laws or overriding the rights that are afforded to all in this nation.

Women should be able to make health care decisions for themselves. Period.