Statement to the media
September 3, 2021

Texas abortion ban emphasizes
the need for a vigorous fightback

By Gina Petry, Radical Women – U.S.

Radical Women joins the chorus of angry abortion rights supporters after Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision allowed Texas’s six-week abortion ban to take effect. This decision, combined with the forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in Mississippi, shows that women’s lives and bodily autonomy have no value in the eyes of the federal justices. We are facing the very real possibility that Roe v. Wade could be overturned.

A national call for October 3 actions for reproductive justice was recently issued by Radical Women and has already been endorsed by 15 groups from around the country. Titled “Remember Rosie Jiménez: National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice,” the date memorializes the first person known to die of an unsafe abortion after the Hyde Amendment was passed in 1977. Events around the country are being organized around a strong set of demands that reflect the whole spectrum of reproductive justice.

Joining me in outrage is Latina mother and Radical Women activist Miriam Padilla who says, “Shame on the Texas government and the Supreme Court for allowing this draconian ban on abortion to take effect. It is a slap in the face to the memory of Rosie Jiménez! More women and pregnant people will certainly die without access to safe and legal abortion because they will seek unsafe options just as Rosie Jiménez was forced to do. We must come together and shout NO MORE!”

National and local activities and information about the October 3 National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice are posted at www.ReproJusticeNow.org.