STATEMENT: One Year Post-Dobbs, ERA Predicts Generational Impacts of Denied Reproductive Health Care & Bodily Autonomy

June 23. 2023

For Immediate Release
Jun 23, 2023

Media Contact
Nazirah Ahmad
[email protected]

Noreen Farrell, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates, which fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country, focuses on state-level advocacy to protect women’s health and financial stability 

June 23, 2023 — One year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the denial of access to safe and legal abortions poses an increasingly significant threat to the lives, health and financial independence of women, as well as transgender and nonbinary individuals. Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) is undeterred in its work to improve the economic security of people whose ability to participate at school and in the workplace depends on reproductive autonomy, paid leave, childcare access, fair pay, and other reforms under assault by repressive lawmakers and complicit courts.

More than 26 states have implemented restrictive abortion bans, endangering the lives and well-being of countless individuals. Over 40 million women live in states where abortion is restricted, and must live in fear of the legal, financial, and health-related consequences. The disproportionate impact on women of color and those living in poverty is reprehensible and calculated. Research shows that if abortion is banned throughout the U.S., Black women deaths would rise by 39%.

The aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision has unleashed a cascade of dire consequences, including diminished economic mobility and security for families nationwide. Women who are denied abortions are three times more likely to leave the workforce. By pressuring women into unwanted pregnancies, we see forced removal from the workplace, derailment of careers, perpetuation of poverty, and severe limitations in employment options. These repercussions not only compromise women’s financial stability but also cast a shadow on the economic outlook of future generations.

The relentless attacks on abortion rights have always been about more than just abortion itself. These assaults aim to confine women to restrictive gender roles, perpetuating economic and political marginalization. This is evident in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, as lawmakers across the nation continue to disregard measures that would support women in the workplace, such as affordable child care, paid family leave, equal wages, and protection against gender-based violence and harassment.

This backward step is enraging and disheartening, but our determination to fight for reproductive justice has only grown stronger. Elected officials at the state level must employ legislative strategies to enact laws safeguarding reproductive healthcare as a fundamental right. Even in states where abortion rights remain protected, access barriers persist due to geography, race, and income disparities. Without more focused efforts, these long-standing reproductive healthcare inequities will only worsen.

The Supreme Court and other courts across the country have abdicated their responsibility to follow precedent and protect our rights and liberties. We must use all methods at our disposal to ensure that women have access to safe and legal abortions. 

Noreen Farrell is available for interviews upon request, contact Nazirah Ahmad at [email protected] or (704) 290-6869.

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About Equal Rights Advocates

Equal Rights Advocates fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country. Since 1974, they have been fighting on the front lines of social justice to protect and advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and people of all gender identities through groundbreaking legal cases and bold legislation that sets the stage for the rest of the nation.