WASHINGTON – Following the news that the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, effectively creating new forms of danger and further economic disempowerment for women and birthing people across the nation, Care in Action – the policy and advocacy home for domestic workers, who are largely women of color and immigrant women – issued the following statement:
“While we process the horrifying reality that we are now a nation without full access to abortion health care for all women and birthing people, our vision remains clear: We are not backing down in the struggle to ensure that all women and birthing people have the fundamental right to abortion and the ability to control our own reproductive futures.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision to overturn half a century of federal protection for reproductive freedom will directly impact working women of color, Black and brown women, Indigenous women, immigrant women, and birthing people and their families, who already face barriers accessing quality health care. And for domestic workers, the people who do the care work that makes all other work possible, this new reality will force them to make impossible decisions about their futures in a nation that refuses to provide family-sustaining wages or other caregiving supports.
“As an organization led and powered by women of color, we’re no stranger to reimagining the future. Our work to organize and elect progressive women of color at every level has made it possible to continue building a safe and equitable country for all. And the fight for our reproductive and economic freedom has always been core to that future. Republican lawmakers and their nominated Justices have spent decades working to reverse the right to reproductive freedom – and it is up to us to ensure they don’t get the chance to strip away our rights again. While we are fighting for abortion health care, child care, paid family and medical leave, and home- and community-based services to support our families, Republicans have refused to make critical investments in children, women and our families – instead undermining our agency and endangering millions in the process.
“We echo Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan in their dissent: “Above all others, women lacking financial resources will suffer from today’s decision.” We will not accept this reality as the final word. Today is our opportunity to change the future, yet again, to make this nation a safer place for all – and we will seize that opportunity at the ballot box in November.”
It is critical to ensure that all Americans know that abortion is still legal and accessible in a variety of ways, despite today’s decision. Those needing abortion services can find them at https://www.abortionfinder.org/. Those who want to support one or more of many abortion funds across the country can do so at https://www.abortionfunds.org.
Care in Action is the policy and advocacy home for women who care, working on behalf of more than two million domestic workers and care workers across America. Among the fastest-growing sectors in our economy, domestic workers are also among the most vulnerable and undervalued. As a mostly women and majority women of color workforce, this growing constituency consistently and overwhelmingly supports progressive values in American political life. Learn more at www.careinaction.us.