Today is a solemn and chilling day at Sakhi as we learn of the Supreme Court’s formal reversal of Roe v. Wade.
As we grapple with this ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, we find it necessary to repeat: abortion restrictions are gender-based violence. We refuse to accept a future that negates the bodily autonomy and reproductive choice of people across the United States.
On her way to Indiana to provide abortion care for possibly the last time, Dr. Meera Shah—Sakhi Board member, Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, and Medical Director of Whole Woman’s Health Alliance of South Bend, Indiana— shared, “As an abortion provider, I’m beside myself. What the Court has done will have a devastating impact on Americans for generations to come. The right to privacy and bodily autonomy has been stripped away from millions of people, but I promise you, we will continue to fight for justice. We won’t give up.”
Now, more than ever, we must unite. We must recognize that state-sanctioned attempts to control our bodies take many forms— abortion restrictions, blows to the rights of trans youth, anti-Black and white supremacist agitations, the flouting of gun safety regulations, climate change denial, and so much more— and that strength in this moment comes from an express commitment to solidarity.
A little over a month ago, Alexis McGill Johnson—CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund— reflected on this sentiment at Sakhi’s gala. She asserted, “We need to be together because we need to grieve, to be enraged, and we need to be prepared to fight whatever comes next.”
Executive Director Kavita Mehra emphasized, “At Sakhi, we know that the critical power of unity is what will drive us through this dark moment in history. As we mourn and process this news, we remain vigilant and steadfast in our commitment to challenging injustice wherever we see it.”
Later this evening, Sakhi staff will join a demonstration in response to the ruling at Washington Square Park at 6:30pm. We invite you to join us.
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