Press Release

AFT’s Weingarten Slams Supreme Court Ruling Overturning Roe v. Wade

For Release:

Contact:

Oriana Korin
202-374-6103
okorin@aft.org

WASHINGTON—Statement by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the U.S. Supreme Court decision today in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade and ruling that there is no constitutional right to abortion:

“In the span of one week, an extremist-dominated Supreme Court decided it has the authority to divine who in America has rights and freedoms and who does not.

“Upending decades of long-settled precedent that will impact the lives of millions of people, the court’s conservative majority this week took away the rights of those who rely on the constitutional separation of church and state to freely practice religion, took away the rights of states to protect children and families from gun violence, and, today, took away the rights of women and anyone who can get pregnant to decide when to have a family. In the span of 24 hours, this court ruled that states can’t regulate gun owners but can regulate the bodies of anyone who can reproduce.

“This revanchist view of their authority by extremist judges is a threat to freedom everywhere. Whose freedom is the Supreme Court coming for next? Justice Clarence Thomas already has a pen aimed at marriage, contraception and more. This decision has massive, far-reaching implications for every person in this country, and puts those of us who teach students, take care of patients and serve our communities in particularly precarious positions. We knew this decision was coming, but the damage of reversing Roe is shocking nonetheless. This is a dark day in American history.”

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The AFT represents 1.7 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.