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

January 22, 2003

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.

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