[News-releases] Roe v. Wade 30th Anniversary

NOW Press Office
202-628-8669 Rebecca Farmer, x 116
202-785-8576 (fax)


Roe v. Wade 30th Anniversary: Will We Be the Last Generation of Women to 
Legally Control Our Reproductive Lives?

Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

On this day, the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, women and men across the 
United States will honor one of the most important Supreme Court decisions 
in our history. On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. 
Constitution guarantees women the legal right to choose abortion, although 
subject to restrictions after the first trimester. Since that time, Roe v. 
Wade has been crucial in both saving and shaping women's lives in this country.

We will not be the generation that both won and lost reproductive rights in 
our lifetime. And those rights have never been in greater danger. With 
George Bush looking at potential Supreme Court nominees who are not only 
very conservative, but very young -- high 30s, young 40s -- he has an 
opportunity to stack the Court with judges who will carry out an 
anti-women, anti-reproductive freedom philosophy for another 35 to 40 
years. The effect would last for generations -- we're talking about the 
entire reproductive life of my 9-year-old daughter.

Bush has already nominated over 100 anti-abortion judges to lifetime seats 
on federal district and appellate courts. But it's not just an appointment 
strategy -- the Bush administration and its supporters in Congress are on a 
mission to deny women's reproductive rights by any and all means necessary. 
It is clear that George W. Bush will continue to push through Congress, and 
then sign, every piece of legislation that divorces women from authority 
over their bodies and their lives. He is cutting family planning funds here 
and abroad, appointing radical anti-abortion and anti-birth control 
advocates to key health committees, and taking every opportunity to ensure 
that a pregnant woman's rights are secondary to those of the embryo or fetus.

The Bush administration has gone too far and it is time for us to fight 
back. If women ever are to achieve full equality in the United States and 
around the globe, we must have the right to determine whether and when to 
have children. Safe, legal and accessible abortion saves women's lives, 
benefits existing families, and serves society as a whole by helping to 
create a world where every child is wanted and every woman has the dignity 
of controlling her fertility.

Today we remember the women who died from illegal abortions; we thank the 
brave doctors who have risked their own lives to provide full reproductive 
health services; we applaud the millions who have stood up to protect these 
rights over the years; and we recognize the gains and contributions women 
have made in society since they have been able to freely plan their 
families. And today we are sending a warning to George W. Bush that he 
cannot trample on women's freedom and self-determination without paying a 
price at the polls.