Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) rejected the license application of the only abortion provider in the state. Judge Michael F. Stelzer of the Missouri Circuit Court in St. Louis then ruled that his preliminary injunction to allow the clinic to continue to provide abortions remains in place until he issues a written order outlining next steps. The judge’s decision prevents Missouri from becoming the first state in America without access to a clinic providing abortion care since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, at least for the moment.  

Gov. Mike Parson (R) and the DHSS are using the regulatory process as a weapon to prevent access to abortion care. Missouri would have its residents return to the days when abortion was outlawed, when women seeking abortions had to risk a loss of fertility or their life when trying to end an unwanted pregnancy. These dangers are especially prevalent for people in vulnerable populations, such as women living in poverty and women of color, who may not have the resources necessary to travel out-of-state to access abortion care. Gov. Parson and the DHSS did not do this to protect women’s health — they did this to take control of women’s bodies and deny them their constitutional rights. 

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is unequivocal in its assertion that women have the right to safe, legal, affordable and accessible abortion care, and we condemn, in the strongest terms Missouri’s attempt to deny its residents that right. 

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, 202-570-4745

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt and Rhode Island NOW President Hilary Levey Friedman:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Rhode Island legislature’s passage of a bill to codify Roe v. Wade, and Gov. Gina Raimondo’s swift signing of the measure, puts Rhode Island in the vanguard of states that are confronting the real threat to reproductive rights and the health and safety of women and girls. 

We commend lawmakers for recognizing that abortion care is health care, and that women’s fundamental right to access reproductive health care must never be taken away.  With a Supreme Court that could at any time reverse or subvert Roe to make abortion inaccessible and unaffordable, Rhode Island women need to know that their constitutional rights will be protected.   

Gov. Raimondo and the legislators who passed this law know that if women don’t have access to a complete range of affordable health care services, then maternal and infant death rates will rise. We must never turn back the clock on women’s health.  This action from Rhode Island protects women, upholds health care rights and saves lives, and NOW recommends that other states take notice.

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745

Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the National Organization for Women celebrates Juneteenth, commemorating the day 154 years ago when Texan slaves learned that the Civil War was won and they were free. On June 19, 1865, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Major General Gordon Granger and his regiment arrived in Galveston, Texas and issued General Order Number 3, finally making emancipation a reality in the region. 

Juneteenth is an annual tradition that grew nationally out of the festivities and joy that Granger’s announcement brought. It is a day of celebration, liberation and defiance, and for remembering the strength and achievements of African Americans, while also recognizing the horrors of slavery. 

Yet this important date still receives little attention — and often outright hostility — from those outside the Black community. School textbooks identify the Emancipation Proclamation as ending slavery, ignoring that it persisted for years in some regions. The relative obscurity of Juneteenth in our national dialogue serves as a reminder that white supremacy is still entrenched in how Americans understand our history — and its impact on the present. 

This Juneteenth, we recognize the importance of dismantling the legacy of slavery in our society in order to truly realize the importance of equality and liberation for African Americans. NOW’s intersectional approach to feminist advocacy asserts that women of color will not be free without a women’s movement that is both anti-sexist and anti-racist. This understanding informs all our work to protect reproductive rights, advocate for economic and racial justice, end violence against women, assert LGBTQIA+ equality and eradicate gender discrimination. 

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745