Statement by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Supreme Court Ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
Today, the Supreme Court has taken away the established, fundamental, Constitutional right to abortion from millions of Americans. This is a cruel, dark, and dangerous decision.
Over the course of my lifetime, our country has sought to bend the long arc of history towards justice, especially when it comes to the rights of women and girls, in all their diversity. I have personally experienced how much it means to have your rights recognized. And I have learned that we must fight for our rights – that we can never take them for granted.
What makes this decision so heartbreaking is that Americans had a clear and unequivocal Constitutional right stripped away. Roe v. Wade not only protected the right to privacy, it also reaffirmed basic principles of gender equality – that all women have the power to control their own destinies and make intensely personal choices free from interference from politicians.
I have traveled the globe advocating for women’s rights. Now, this decision renders my own country an outlier among developed nations in the world.
But as President Biden said, the fight is not over. Let me be clear: the Biden Administration remains committed to protecting and advancing the rights of women and girls around the world, including at the UN and in our foreign assistance. We will keep defending the rights of women and girls both at home and abroad. And we will keep supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights, providing assistance for global health, advancing gender equity and equality, and putting women’s empowerment at the forefront of our agenda.
That is what President Biden has asked us to do, and that is what we will continue to do with vigor and pride.
Source: https://usun.usmission.gov/statement-by-ambassador-linda-thomas-greenfield-on-supreme-court-ruling-in-dobbs-v-jackson-womens-health-organization/
