Indian American Lawmakers Decry US Supreme Court's Reversal Of Roe vs Wade

Lawmakers have urged communities to make their vote count to protect women's abortion rights.

Some Indian American lawmakers have joined forces with the non-profit organisation Equal Rights Advocates (that aims at protecting the fundamental rights of marginalised persons in the United States) to make their voice heard in refuting the United States Supreme Court's ruling that overturned 50 years of abortion rights in the country.

On Friday, 24 June, the highest court in the United States declared that it would be reversing the Roe vs Wade decision that gave American women the right to choose. Led by a conservative majority, the ruling has impacted the fundamental rights of women in the US and has taken away essential healthcare and reproductive care that was previously afforded by all women on a federal level in the US.

Jay Chaudhuri, North Carolina State Senator

"Today's decision is a direct attack on the progress that women have fought for, for over half a century. Gear up for one of the most critical elections of our lifetime... The fight starts now."

Jay Chaudhuri, North Carolina State Senator

North Carolina state senator Jay Chaudhuri said, "over the past few years, Republican lawmakers across the country have been working diligently to chip away abortion access."

After the ruling of the Supreme Court, abortion was criminalised in 13 states due to trigger laws, Chaudhuri said. This leaves North Carolina as one of the only states in the South where access to abortion is still legal, he noted.

Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democratic Congressman from Illinois

Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democratic House Member from Illinois, called the reversal of Roe vs Wade as "a tragic, devastating rollback of nearly half a century of progress" in an official statement on his website.

"Unfortunately, this is likely only the beginning of this extreme, right-wing court's attacks on the rights of Americans," Krishnamoorthi said.

"People of colour and those with low incomes will be hit the hardest by this disastrous decision to overturn Roe. We must step up and protect our nation's most vulnerable from these right-wing extremists."

Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democratic Congressman from Illinois

Krishnamoorthi added that this overturn results in the rollback of precedent in protecting reproductive rights and the right to bodily autonomy as well.

"A woman's fundamental right to make her own health decisions, in consultation with her doctor and her loved ones, must be protected, and that's why I will continue to work unyieldingly with my colleagues to enshrine Roe v Wade and the right to choose in law."

Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democratic Congressman from Illinois

Noreen Farrell, executive director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) issued a statement on the official website of ERA citing that the Supreme Court's ruling unfairly impacts women of colour and immigrants.

Studies confirm that women, especially those from minority groups such as African Americans and immigrant women, are forced to carry pregnancies and face greater health risks. African American women are three times more likely to die during childbirth than their White counterparts, according to ERA.

"This devastating decision threatens the lives and health of millions across the country, as well as decades of gender justice progress."

Noreen Farrell, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates

US Vice-President Kamala Harris also addressed a group ahead of a discussion on maternal health in Plainsfield, Illinois, where she said that the fight was "not over".