AAFSC Statement on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Decision

With last week’s Supreme Court reversal of Roe v. Wade, the state of health care access in the United States has been fundamentally altered.

As we process the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, we are again reminded that true equity is still out of reach. In the ruling-majority’s vision for our future, access to necessary, lifesaving abortion care will be determined not by one’s fundamental rights, but on proximity to systemic advantages that will protect high-income and well-educated women and exclude low-income, marginalized, immigrant, and limited English proficient community members. Restricted abortion care access will disproportionately impact survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, whose empowerment and self-determination depend on safe, confidential, and unencumbered access to the services they need to obtain safety and healing. With this ruling, the Supreme Court has forged a path for cascading injustice and inequity that will affect our communities for generations.

The Arab-American Family Support Center is frustrated and appalled by this rollback of human rights and the failure of our systems to anticipate and protect the needs and voices of immigrant communities and domestic violence survivors in the future of abortion care access.

We call upon our leaders to strengthen protections for ALL residents of New York and beyond, and to enact comprehensive, robust legislation at the local, state, and national level for the safety and security of those most vulnerable.