Editor’s Note: The U.S. Supreme Court this morning heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case that could result in Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion in America, being severely limited or overturned. Prior to the arguments, advocates of reproductive freedom rallied outside the court to make it clear that most Americans don’t want to see the court undermine reproductive rights. Americans United President and CEO Rachel Laser was among the speakers. Here is the text of her remarks:
Reproductive freedom is religious freedom!
Abortion bans impose one religious viewpoint on the rest of us.
Reproductive freedom is religious freedom!
It’s no coincidence that the states have enacted an unprecedented number of abortion restrictions during a time when we are also witnessing the most emboldened Christian nationalist movement our country has seen in a long time.
Say it with me: Reproductive freedom is religious freedom!
In America, we are supposed to have religious freedom. That means the freedom to make our own reproductive decisions – which are deeply personal and have major consequences for our health and our lives – based on our own belief systems.
Reproductive freedom is religious freedom!
Different religious and moral belief systems have different views on abortion. Religious freedom demands the right to an abortion so people can make their own decision according to their own principles.
Reproductive freedom is religious freedom!
True story: when Roe v. Wade first came down, even the Southern Baptist Convention celebrated the decision as one that advanced religious freedom.
Reproductive freedom is religious freedom!
As a Jewish woman, I am obligated to have an abortion if a pregnancy puts my life at risk.
Reproductive freedom is religious freedom!
The viability standard in Roe v Wade is the only possible standard that respects everyone’s freedom of conscience in our religiously diverse country. That’s why Americans United filed a brief in the Dobbs case urging the Court to retain the viability standard in order to preserve religious freedom.
Reproductive freedom is religious freedom!
These are scary times, but scarier is giving up on our country’s promise of freedom without favor and equality without exception. Americans United will never stop fighting alongside you to protect every person’s right to make their own decision about their own body and destiny, based on their own beliefs.
Say it with me one last time: Reproductive freedom is religious freedom!
(Photo: AU staffers outside the Supreme Court)
