The NAACP on Friday blasted the Supreme Court’s decision overturning nearly 50 years of precedent that allowed women a constitutional right to abortion, saying it will disproportionately affect Black women.
The civil rights organization called the conservative majority court’s 6-3 decision overturning Roe v. Wade an “egregious assault on basic human rights.”
“This Supreme Court is turning back the clock to a dangerous era where basic constitutional rights only exist for a select few,” said Portia White, policy and legislative affairs vice president for the NAACP. “They’ve stripped away our right to vote, and now women have lost their right to their own body. What’s next?”
A study from Duke University published in December suggested that a complete abortion ban could increase Black maternal deaths by 33 percent.
Several states have already moved to outlaw the procedure following the court’s ruling, though abortion will remain legal in about half of states.
The court’s ruling came hours after the White House outlined its plan to address the high mortality rate in the U.S., in which Black women face some of the worst pregnancy-related health outcomes.
Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications and twice as likely to lose an infant to premature death.
The NAACP is urging voters to hit the polls in November following the court’s ruling. The organization has partnered with Vote.org to register and mobilize voters ahead of the midterms.
“”Today’s Supreme Court decision marks a significant regression of our country,” said Janette McCarthy Wallace, NAACP general counsel. “We must all stand up to have our voices heard in order to protect our nation from the further degradation of civil rights protections we have worked so hard to secure.”