CGRS Denounces SCOTUS Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade

Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion. The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) denounces the Court’s ruling, which marks a seismic step backwards in the struggle for women’s rights and human rights. The decision paves the way for over two dozen states to ban abortion, and for many more to severely restrict access to abortion care. It will have deadly consequences.

“CGRS was founded to advance the rights of women who turn to the United States for freedom, safety, and the ability to determine their own futures,” CGRS Director Karen Musalo said today. “The Dobbs decision tramples on the hopes of these women and makes all of us less safe. CGRS will continue fighting for a world where women, LGBTQ+ individuals, children, and all people can live free from violence, including the violence of forced pregnancy. Women’s rights are human rights, and abortion care is health care.”

The Dobbs ruling will disproportionately harm women of color and low-income people, who already encounter systemic barriers to reproductive health care. By allowing states to further criminalize abortion, the decision will inflict a particularly heavy burden on undocumented immigrants, for whom contact with the criminal justice system can lead to detention, deportation, and permanent family separation. The ruling will also have a devastating impact on survivors of domestic and sexual violence, many of whom become pregnant as a result of abuse.