The Supreme Court has overturned Roe. Now what?

by | Jun 24, 2022 | Activism, California, Featured, Ideas, JCJ Blog, Judaism, Women’s Rights

Last month, we learned of a leaked Supreme Court memo pointing toward a likely overturning of Roe v. Wade. By pushing the decision on abortion rights to the states, individuals will be denied the fundamental right to body autonomy that has been upheld for nearly 50 years.

Read JCJ’s response to the leaked memo here.

Today, Roe v. Wade was officially overturned, a move that we saw coming. Now, it’s time to take action.

Here are 3 ways you can fight back against this egregious decision and help those who who need support accessing abortions now:

  1. Donate to an abortion fund.
  2. Call your Senators and Representatives and ask them to push the Biden administration to enact executive orders that protect people’s right to an abortion.
  3. Call California State Assembly Members and State Senators in support of legislation that will ensure that California is a safe haven for reproductive choice.

Donate to an Abortion Fund

The following are 4 abortion funds that the JCJ supports. Find an abortion fund that works for you, and click the link to donate.

  • The National Network of Abortion Funds: NNAF provides leadership development, infrastructure support, and technical assistance to more than 90 abortion funds across the U.S. and internationally. A donation to the NNAF will finance regions and abortion funds that need the most support at any given time. In addition, NNAF also manages the Collective Power Fund which provides funding to member organizations in the South and Midwest, which will be hit the hardest by the Supreme Court decision. Lastly, if you want to donate directly to a local abortion fund, you can utilize NNAF map of local abortion funds.
  • Indigenous Women Rising: This organization runs an abortion fund for Indigenous and undocumented people in the United States and Canada. Indigenous Women Rising has been recognized as a critical abortion fund to support by NNAF and KQED. 
  • The Brigid Alliance: This abortion fund works primarily with individuals who are beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy and must travel far distances to access abortions. They work with individuals and communities disproportionately affected by abortion restrictions: women living at or below the federal poverty line, people of color, minors, undocumented immigrants, people living in communities with limited transportation infrastructure, individuals living in states hostile to women’s healthcare, disabled people, survivors of abuse, and those who rely on Medicaid or are uninsured. Two-thirds of their clients are BIPOC, and one third are already parents. This fund has been recognized by the NNAF.

Stay Informed About Donating to Abortion Funds: 

Call your Senators and Representatives and ask them to push the Biden administration to enact executive orders that protect people’s right to an abortion.

The Jewish Center for Justice supports executive action by the Biden Administration to help ensure access to abortion and other aspects of reproductive choice, along with executive orders that minimize the damage from the Supreme Court overturning Roe. 

A summary of the proposals are below as well as some background material: 

President Biden has yet to come forward with a plan of action to safeguard abortion and counteract the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v Wade. In response, 25 Democratic senators co-signed a letter with possible actions for President Biden to take. The letter first discussed increasing access to medication abortion and making the availability of medication abortion known. It also mentioned providing resources that teach women about abortion care that is not available in their home state. The letter sought to create a new reproductive health ombudsman at the Department of Health and Human Services. This can help educate the public and provide the Department of Health and Human Services with new data regarding reproductive services. The letter also mentions allowing Medicaid patients to get family planning care from a provider of their choice. Finally, the Senator’s letter discusses increasing abortion accessibility such as allowing federal employees paid time off and creating abortion clinics on federal land. 

Sample Call Script: 

Hello. My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am calling to urge Senator or Representative [NAME] to call on the Biden Administration to issue a series of Executive Orders that protect access to an abortion. As a member of the Jewish Center for Justice community, we know that it is our moral obligation to ensure that all individuals, regardless of the state in which they live, have reproductive choice.  As a country, we have benefited from reproductive choice for nearly 50 years and we urge you to do all you can to ensure that individuals can access reproductive care. 

Background info: 

Act To Make California a Safe Haven for Reproductive Choice

The Jewish Center for Justice is mobilizing the Jewish community and other communities of faith in an effort to codify the right to reproductive choice into law.  In recent years, we have witnessed an unprecedented assault on Roe v. Wade from anti-choice state legislatures and governors as well as from a majority of Supreme Court justices.

As a Jewish community, we respect and support the right to reproductive choice for all individuals. Restricting the right to choose and denying basic health care would force too many to seek unsafe abortions, causing great harm to those individuals and our society at large.  We serve as a strong advocate and supporter of organizations that offer critical health services for reproductive rights.

While we fight the horrific decisions in the Supreme Court, and the fillibuster-proof Senate, we can and will make California a safe haven for abortion access and care.  Please join us in action by supporting the following bills, and calling your State Assembly Member and Senator to urge support for these bills. 

What To Support In California

We urge you to join JCJ in supporting a November Ballot initiative which would change the California Constitution to prevent the state from denying or interfering with “an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion.” This constitutional amendment would “explicitly enshrine abortion rights” into the California Constitution. To learn more, check out this article.

Along with that there are important bills in both the state assembly and senate that improve access to safe and affordable abortions in California.

AB-1918 creates the California Reproductive Health Service Corps to train a group of reproductive health care professionals to work in underserved communities. The bill will also provide financial aid to students receiving an education in reproductive health care. Upon completion of their education, those healthcare professionals would have to serve for the California Reproductive Health Service Corp for three years.

Hello. My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am calling to urge Assembly Member [NAME] to support AB 1918. As a member of the Jewish Center for Justice community, we know it is our moral obligation to ensure that all individuals, regardless of the state in which they live, are offered reproductive choice. As a country, we have benefited from reproductive choice for nearly 50 years and we urge you to pass AB 1918 to ensure that California has a Reproductive Health Service Corps.

SB-1142 creates “The Abortion Support Fund” to provide grants to California organizations that assist patients in overcoming barriers to abortion. Also creates an “Abortion Information Webpage” with comprehensive info regarding accessing abortion services in California. 

Hello. My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am calling to urge Senator [NAME] to support SB 1142, The Abortion Support Fund. As a member of the Jewish Center for Justice community, we know it is our moral obligation to ensure that all individuals, regardless of the state in which they live, are offered reproductive choice. As a country, we have benefited from reproductive choice for nearly 50 years and we urge you to pass SB 1142 to ensure that California is providing access to reproductive health. 

Stay Informed: 

Organizations to follow: