A Statement from the Women of Political Reform on the End of Roe v. Wade

As the women of the Political Reform program at New America, we are angered and dismayed by the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization to strip away the right to bodily autonomy and reproductive healthcare for millions of Americans. The decision is illustrative of a broader crisis faced by our democracy, where increasingly a select few can make decisions on behalf of the many, and where the will of the many can be so brazenly violated.

This decision will not only undermine our economic and social freedoms, but our political equality as well. The decision imperils the individual liberties, anchored in the 14th Amendment, that underpin our democracy. These individual liberties should not be up for a vote, even by the states. As Jamelle Bouie argues, returning the question of abortion to the states is far from a democratic outcome, given state legislatures’ ability to effectively disenfranchise voters through gerrymandering and voter suppression laws. But even if our system did provide fair representation, he writes, “there’s more to democracy than just voting or the process of making a law.” “A democracy that allows this strict control of reproduction — that curtails the rights of its citizens in this manner — isn’t worthy of the name.”

In the face of this decision and growing threats to the legitimacy and resiliency of our nation’s core political institutions, we recommit to Political Reform’s mission of repairing the dysfunction of government, restoring civic trust, and realizing the potential of American democracy.