Adams, Pressley Lead Black Congresswomen Urging Biden to Declare Public Health Emergency Amid Threats to Abortion Rights
Noting Disparate Impact of Dismantling Roe on Black Women, Lawmakers Call for Swift Executive Action to Protect Abortion Rights and Save Black Lives
WASHINGTON – In a letter today, Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12), co-founder and Co-Chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’ Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, alongside Congresswomen Barbara Lee (CA-13), Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus, and Cori Bush (MO-01), led their Black women colleagues in urging President Biden to use all applicable executive authorities to protect fundamental reproductive rights and abortion access in response to recent attacks on abortion care—including by declaring a public health and national emergency.
Additionally, Rep. Adams will hold a media availability on Zoom after the Dobbs decision is announced. To RSVP, or for more information, please email sam.spencer@mail.house.gov.
With the extreme right-wing Supreme Court majority poised to overturn Roe v. Wade—a move that would disproportionately put Black lives at risk—Adams, Pressley and several women members of the Congressional Black Caucus are calling on President Biden to act with urgency.
“It is clear that attacks on reproductive rights and abortion access are a threat to the public health and will put Black lives most at risk,” the lawmakers wrote. “We urge you to use any and all executive authorities to address the public health crisis our nation will face if Roe v. Wade is dismantled. Declaring a public health emergency and national emergency will allow your Administration to utilize additional flexibilities, deploy resources where necessary and act with the urgency that this moment requires.”
Research indicates Black women already face significant systemic barriers to accessing essential sexual and reproductive health care services, contributing to the alarming maternal morbidity rate, and one harrowing studyestimates that banning abortion across the United States would result in an estimated 21% increase in maternal deaths across all races, and a 33% increase in maternal deaths among Black individuals.
“In the midst of a Black maternal mortality crisis already robbing us of the lives of Black women three to four times the rate of white women, restricting access to abortion care will disproportionately endanger the lives of Black women and pregnant people,” the lawmakers continued. “In this unprecedented moment, we must act urgently as if lives depend on it because they do.”
Joining the lawmakers in sending the letter are Reps. Joyce Beatty, Brenda Lawrence, Gwen Moore, Yvette Clarke, Nikema Williams, Terri Sewell, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Ilhan Omar, Jahana Hayes, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Marilyn Strickland, Eleanor Holmes-Norton, Shontel Brown, Lucy McBath, Karen Bass, and Stacey Plaskett.
A copy of the letter can be accessed here.
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