Statement on the reversal of the Constitutional right to abortion | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    It should come as no surprise that the North Carolina Council for Women, whose mission it is to achieve equality for all NC women by advocating for education, health and safety, economic security, and social justice, supports women's rights to make the reproductive decisions that are best for them and their families. Friday's decision by the Supreme Court to overturn generations of legal precedent and settled law that enshrined this as a Constitutional right unravels the very fabric of our democracy, and means that for the first time, our daughters and granddaughters will have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers.

    For a country whose moral arc has traditionally bent toward justice, this is an aberration and a revocation of decades of progress.

    This is not simply a women's issue. We are compelled to remind our leaders of the impending public health and economic crises that will accompany this regressive, cruel and overly politicized decision. The United States already stands alone in the developed world in its high rates of maternal and infant mortality-particularly for Black and Brown women- and its decades-long refusal to provide mandatory, paid parental leave for those who choose to become parents. Against this uninspiring national backdrop, our state inspires little comfort, scoring in the bottom-third in the nation on these measures: we earn Cs and Ds in our annual report cards on the status of women according to various measures of health, economy, poverty and political participation. And that was before last week's decision.

    In this difficult moment in time, we reaffirm our vision, that our work will one day ensure that North Carolina becomes the best state for women to thrive. At least for today, abortion remains legal and safe in North Carolina. We are grateful for the leadership of Governor Roy Cooper and the many courageous, rational and committed leaders of this state who are working to ensure that the national wave that seeks to rollback women's rights stops at our shores.

    Let us remember that ours is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people," and that the grand ideals of American democracy will only be achieved when all people are afforded the same rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." We stand in solidarity with allies across the state, region, and country who are working to protect these ideals and the fundamental rights and freedoms of our citizens. We urgently call on state and national leaders to affirm women's fundamental right to determine whether and when we are physically, emotionally, and financially prepared to give birth. And we firmly stand with healthcare providers, advocates and experts working to continue to guarantee this right to pregnant people everywhere.

    North Carolina's Council for Women

    Annette Taylor, Chair  Lyric Thompson, Vice Chair

    Liz Doherty    

    Candace Gingles  

    Alison Kiser    

    Del Mattioli    

    Mindy Oakley   

    Dana O'Donavan 

    Elizabeth Outten 

    Dr. Patricia Parker  

    Dr. Joyce Payne

    Beth Posner

    Dr. Tracey Ray

    The Honorable Robin Robinson

    Elsa Maria Jimenez-Salgado

    Adrienne Spinner

    Carrie Stewart

    The Honorable Mary Ann Tally

    Karen Wallace-Meigs

    Katherine Woodbury

• NCDOA Communications
• Department of Administration
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• Raleigh, North Carolina 27603