GLAAD AND ULTRAVIOLET URGE EXPANDED LEGAL PROTECTIONS AND ACCESS FOR ALL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE AND GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ROE V WADE DECISION:

GLAAD: “The vast majority of Americans agree: the freedom to make private healthcare decisions is an essential human right. Abortion is healthcare, gender-affirming care is lifesaving, and both kinds of care are inextricably linked to everyone’s right to privacy, safety, and dignity free from intrusive, extremist agendas. Voters sent an unmistakable message that the freedom to control our own bodies must be protected. Every lawmaker should be working to expand protections and access to care. Every LGBTQ person must be free to be themselves, make their own healthcare decisions, and live a life they love.”

ULTRAVIOLET: “On the first anniversary since Roe v. Wade was overturned, millions of people are engaged in the fight for abortion freedom and gender justice like never before–as we face ever more growing threats from the GOP to our rights and futures. The radical right is sowing violence and division against our communities, using the same dangerous playbook they used to overturn Roe to rollback the progress made to protect and expand transgender rights and all our rights and safety. But Americans of all backgrounds have woken up to the extremism of the right and are rebuking it…”

(New York, NY, January 20, 2023) – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, and UltraViolet are urging expanded protections and access for abortion and gender-affirming care as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark Roe v Wade decision.

Abortion access is an LGBTQ issue, part of essential reproductive healthcare that every person and family needs. Support for making abortion legal in all cases is growing, with at least 60% in support of a federal law to make abortion legal nationwide. States that have abortion bans have also passed or proposed bans or other restrictions on gender-affirming care, which is supported by every major medical association and world health authority as safe and lifesaving [statements of support here].

In his concurrence in the decision ending Roe’s protections, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas called for landmark privacy decisions to be reconsidered, including Lawrence, Obergefell and Griswold, including the right to privacy in personal relationships, marriages, and access to contraception. Since then, a bipartisan bill to protect marriage equality was passed and signed into law. State lawmakers have proposed additional protections connecting protections for abortion access and gender-affirming care.

STATEMENT FROM GLAAD PRESIDENT AND CEO, SARAH KATE ELLIS:

“The vast majority of Americans agree: the freedom to make private healthcare decisions is an essential human right. Abortion is healthcare, gender-affirming care is lifesaving, and both kinds of care are inextricably linked to everyone’s right to privacy, safety, and dignity free from intrusive, extremist agendas. Voters sent an unmistakable message that the freedom to control our own bodies must be protected. Every lawmaker should be working to expand protections and access to care. Every LGBTQ person must be free to be themselves, make their own healthcare decisions, and live a life they love.”

STATEMENT FROM ULTRAVIOLET COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BRIDGET TODD

“On the first anniversary since Roe v. Wade was overturned, millions of people are engaged in the fight for abortion freedom and gender justice like never before–as we face ever more growing threats from the GOP to our rights and futures. 

The radical right is sowing violence and division against our communities, using the same dangerous playbook they used to overturn Roe to rollback the progress made to protect and expand transgender rights and all our rights and safety. But Americans of all backgrounds have wakened up to the extremism of the right and are rebuking it.

We already know the overwhelming majority of Americans believe in the right to access abortion care and that many support true bodily autonomy for everyone.  It’s one of the primary reasons why Democrats outperformed Republicans in the midterm elections last year.

Abortion care and gender-affirming health care save lives. We will continue to work together with our partners in the LGBTQ+ movement to stand up for the inclusive, gender justice future we need, deserve, and will see come to fruition.”

Additional research:

• GLAAD: Abortion is an LGBTQ issue.
• Equality Federation: bills proposed to restrict or ban best practices gender-affirming care for LGBTQ youth.

About Ultra Violet

UltraViolet drives feminist cultural and political changes by exposing the white supremacist patriarchy and creating the conditions for a more just and equitable world for all.

UltraViolet is leading the movement toward a future in which gender justice is a lived reality for all. As a multiracial, multigender organization with over 1.2 million members in all 50 states, we are committed to exposing the injustices against Black and Indigenous women and women of color, minimizing the power of the white supremacist and misogynist minority, and activating more people in more places to demand change.