FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

June 24, 2023

MEDIA CONTACT: 

e: brian.phillips@mail.house.gov

c: 202.913.0126

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Robin Kelly (IL-02), and Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, issued the following statement regarding the first anniversary of the Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion:

“A year after the Supreme Court’s far-right ruling to overturn Roe V. Wade, our nation remains in the depths of the worst maternal mortality crisis in modern history – and no community is experiencing it to the degree and with such disparity as Black women. When the maternal mortality rate among Black women is three times as high as white women, it’s clear that this issue is not limited to bodily autonomy, but is a matter of racial justice as well,” said the Members.

“Since the Dobbs Decision, state legislatures across the country have put a stranglehold on freedom, passing laws limiting access to abortion and curtailing women’s rights at every turn. Today, they even have their eyes set on restricting the right to contraception. The consequences of such commonplace extremism, particularly on the lives of pregnant women and their families, cannot be overstated.”

“Nationwide, the American people have pushed back against this overreach and voted to defend their rights to abortion access in the face of those deadset on America’s regression. We in Congress are committed to doing the same.”

“At this pivotal moment, we – the Co-Chairs of the Caucus on Black Women and Girls and our like-minded colleagues – are taking action to force a floor vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act to secure the national right to abortion. We have put the lives and futures of women first in this vital fight. We urge our colleagues to do the same.”

###