Statement on Jackson Women’s Health

On December 1st, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Jackson Women’s Health, concerning Mississippi’s 15-week ban and its challenge to Roe v. Wade and decades of precedent recognizing the right of individuals to decide when and how to become a parent.

No individual should be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will. We know how abortion restrictions such as the one in Mississippi and similar bans throughout the country continue to disproportionately harm people struggling financially, BIPOC communities, young individuals, and many historically marginalized people who are unable to travel to access care in other states. The decision about when and how to become a parent is made between a person, their medical provider, and those they trust. Politicians have no place in this personal and intimate decision and should not be able to force people to carry pregnancies against their will.

As we wait for the Supreme Court’s decision in the Mississippi case, let us be clear: Abortion is health care. Abortion is a constitutional right. And abortion in Utah remains safe and legal. Politicians throughout the country, including those in Utah, cannot selectively pick what constitutional rights apply inside their states

We will continue to advocate as long as it takes to ensure that Utahns retain access to abortion care. Regardless of what the Supreme Court decides in the Mississippi case, the ACLU of Utah and its partners will continue to fight—from the courtroom, to the streets, to the Capitol—to defend access to abortion in Utah.