FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, D.C. – Today, Terrance E. Moore, CEO of the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, issued the following statement in response to the leaked draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization:
“As our nation comes to grips with the potential upending of Roe v. Wade, public health professionals must consider the known consequences of curtailing access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care, including abortion care. To be clear, reproductive rights are human rights. A core tenet of reproductive justice, first defined by Black women in 1994, is that all people have the right to have children; the right to not have children; and the right to nurture the children we have in safe and healthy communities. Undoing the legal protections of Roe v. Wade is a direct assault on reproductive justice and on the public’s health.
“Access to abortion care is inextricably linked to maternal health. The United States is already failing to adequately support healthy births and healthy families. We have the highest rate of maternal deaths among industrialized countries. Poor maternal health outcomes disproportionately impact women and birthing people with low incomes, women and birthing people of color, and women and birthing people in rural communities. Our systems and policies fail these individuals at every turn, and it is these individuals who will experience the most harm if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
“This is not the time to look away or be silent. If AMCHP is to live up to our commitments to racial equity, health equity, and undoing systemic racism, this is a time that we must stand up and call out the harm that the draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization would do to maternal and child health. We call on the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Roe v. Wade and reiterate our commitment to actively advocate against any policy or program that perpetuates inequity and racial disadvantage.”
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The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) is a national resource, partner, and advocate for state public health leaders and others working to improve the health of women, infants, children, youth, parents, families, and communities. AMCHP builds successful programs to serve its members by disseminating best practices; advocating on their behalf in Washington, DC; providing technical assistance; convening leaders to share experiences and ideas; and advising states about involving partners to reach our common goal of healthy children, healthy families, and healthy communities. For more information visit www.amchp.org and follow AMCHP on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Please contact Chery Manon Espinal (202-843-9304, cmanonespinal@amchp.org) for questions or media requests.
Download the full statement HERE.
