The reality is chilling: if conservatives have their way, the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision could be overturned and the legal status of abortion could be decided state by state, leaving millions of women to cross state lines in order to access legal abortion care. The risk of the Supreme Court of the United States taking us backwards by 45 years is more real than ever.
As state legislators, we recognize the extraordinary stakes of this generation-defining moment and we pledge to do everything we can to protect Roe v. Wade and legal abortion. We stand for reproductive freedom and we envision a nation in which each of us can make our own decisions about our reproductive health, pregnancy, and parenting, free from political interference. Therefore, we stand against the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court and for a new era in state-based efforts to champion policies that support meaningful access to reproductive health care.
With more than 400 new abortion restrictions passed in states in the last eight years, many women already experience what it is like when abortion is technically legal but needlessly difficult and stigmatizing to get. It’s clear opponents of women’s health have been preparing for this moment for decades. Right now there are 12 abortion cases moving through the federal court system that could come before the Supreme Court, and at least 20 states are poised to immediately seek to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
But as state legislators and members of the Reproductive Freedom Leadership Council, we strive to lead our colleagues into an era when, instead of standing by while new policies are enacted each year that restrict reproductive rights and health, we instead advance meaningful solutions to the health care needs, economic inequalities, and other challenges our constituents face. It’s not enough to oppose a Supreme Court nominee who could gut the right to abortion at the federal level; we must exercise leadership as state legislators to do our critical part in creating a world where people can exercise reproductive freedom.
Public support for the Roe v. Wade decision is higher than ever, and transcends political parties. But more important than polling data is what we know to be true: elected officials must uphold the sacred duty of public office by honoring our charge to act for a better future. We pledge to use our platforms as state legislators to advance the reproductive health care needs of the people we serve and to work with our communities to improve our state policies to protect and advance abortion rights and access.
Signed,
Representative Patricia Todd | Alabama |
Representative Geran Tarr | Alaska |
Representative Wenona Benally | Arizona |
Representative Isela Blanc | Arizona |
Senator Andrea Dalessandro | Arizona |
Representative Rosanna Gabaldon | Arizona |
Representative Daniel Hernandez | Arizona |
Senator Juan Mendez | Arizona |
Representative Athena Salman | Arizona |
Senator Joyce Elliott | Arkansas |
Representative Vivian Flowers | Arkansas |
Assemblyman David Chiu | California |
Assemblymember Laura Friedman | California |
Majority Leader KC Becker | Colorado |
Speaker Pro Tempore Jessie Danielson | Colorado |
Representative Daneya Esgar | Colorado |
Senator Steve Fenberg | Colorado |
Senator Rhonda Fields | Colorado |
Representative Joann Ginal | Colorado |
Representative Chris Hansen | Colorado |
Representative Leslie Herod | Colorado |
Representative Edie Hooton | Colorado |
Representative Pete Lee | Colorado |
Representative Susan Lontine | Colorado |
Representative Dafna Michaelson Jenet | Colorado |
Representative Brittany Pettersen | Colorado |
Representative Joseph Salazar | Colorado |
Represenative Mike Weissman | Colorado |
Representative Dave Young | Colorado |
Senator Irene Aguilar | Colorado |
Senator Lois Court | Colorado |
Representative Mike Foote | Colorado |
Representative Dominique Jackson | Colorado |
Senator Daniel Kagan | Colorado |
Representative Barbara McLachlan | Colorado |
Majority Leader Bob Duff | Connecticut |
Representative Josh Elliott | Connecticut |
Senator Mae Flexer | Connecticut |
Representative Gregory Haddad | Connecticut |
Representative Susan Johnson | Connecticut |
Representative Roland Lemar | Connecticut |
Representative Matt Lesser | Connecticut |
Senator Marilyn Moore | Connecticut |
Senator Gayle Slossberg | Connecticut |
Representative Edwin Vargas | Connecticut |
Representative Paul Baumbach | Delaware |
Senator Lori Berman | Florida |
Senator Gloria Butler | Georgia |
Representative Park Cannon | Georgia |
Representative Pat Gardner | Georgia |
Representative Deborah Gonzalez | Georgia |
Representative Sheila Jones | Georgia |
Representative Dar'shun Kendrick | Georgia |
Representative Bee Nguyen | Georgia |
Senator Nan Orrock | Georgia |
Representative Kim Schofield | Georgia |
Representative Renitta Shannon | Georgia |
Senator Curt Thompson | Georgia |
Senator Nikema Williams | Georgia |
Representative Della Au Belatti | Hawaii |
Senator Rosalyn Baker | Hawaii |
Senator Donna Mercado Kim | Hawaii |
Representative Roy Takumi | Hawaii |
Representative Phylis King | Idaho |
Representative Carol Ammons | Illinois |
Senator Omar Aquino | Illinois |
Senator Daniel Biss | Illinois |
Representative Kelly Cassidy | Illinois |
Representative Scott Drury | Illinois |
Representative Sara Feigenholtz | Illinois |
Representative Laura Fine | Illinois |
Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie | Illinois |
Representative Robyn Gabel | Illinois |
Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth | Illinois |
Representative Will Guzzardi | Illinois |
Senator Don Harmon | Illinois |
Representative Greg Harris | Illinois |
Senator Mattie Hunter | Illinois |
Senator Toi Hutchinson | Illinois |
Representative Camille Lilly | Illinois |
Representative Theresa Mah | Illinois |
Representative Robert Martwick | Illinois |
Representative Rita Mayfield | Illinois |
Representative Christian Mitchell | Illinois |
Representative Anna Moeller | Illinois |
Senator Kwame Raoul | Illinois |
Senator Elgie Sims | Illinois |
Senator Heather Steans | Illinois |
Representative Juliana Stratton | Illinois |
Senator Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins | Illinois |
Representative Litesa Wallace | Illinois |
Representative Emanuel Welch | Illinois |
Representative Ann Williams | Illinois |
Representative Sam Yingling | Illinois |
Representative Marti Anderson | Iowa |
Representative Liz Bennett | Iowa |
Senator Joe Bolkcom | Iowa |
Representative Vicki Lensing | Iowa |
Representative Dennis “Boog” Highberger | Kansas |
Representative Annie Kuether | Kansas |
Representative Joni Jenkins | Kentucky |
Representative Mary Lou Marzian | Kentucky |
Representative Attica Woodson Scott | Kentucky |
Senator Shenna Bellows | Maine |
Senator Cathy Breen | Maine |
Representative Dale Denno | Maine |
Representative Donna Doore | Maine |
Representative Michelle Dunphy | Maine |
Representative Richard Farnsworth | Maine |
Representative Drew Gattine | Maine |
Speaker Sara Gideon | Maine |
Representative James Handy | Maine |
Representative Erik Jorgensen | Maine |
Representative Jay McCreight | Maine |
Senator Rebecca Millett | Maine |
Senator Dave Miramant | Maine |
Representative Matt Moonen | Maine |
Representative Margaret O’Neil | Maine |
Representative Lois Reckitt | Maine |
Representative Deane Rykerson | Maine |
Representative Rachel Talbot Ross | Maine |
Representative Denise Tepler | Maine |
Representative Charlotte Warren | Maine |
Delegate Shelly Hettleman | Maryland |
Senator Cheryl Kagan | Maryland |
Delegate Ariana Kelly | Maryland |
Delegate Robbyn Lewis | Maryland |
Delegate Karen Lewis Young | Maryland |
Delegate Brooke Lierman | Maryland |
Senator Richard S. Madaleno Jr. | Maryland |
Delegate David Moon | Maryland |
Delegate Pamela Queen | Maryland |
Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez | Maryland |
Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins | Maryland |
Senator Mike Barrett | Massachusetts |
Representative Carmine Gentile | Massachusetts |
Representative Patricia Haddad | Massachusetts |
Representative Natalie HIggins | Massachusetts |
Senator Barbara L'Italien | Massachusetts |
Representative Jack Patrick Lewis | Massachusetts |
Representative David Linsky | Massachusetts |
Representative Alice Peisch | Massachusetts |
Representative Denise Provost | Massachusetts |
Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich | Michigan |
Senator Steve Bieda | Michigan |
Representative Winnie Brinks | Michigan |
Representative Stephanie Chang | Michigan |
Representative Pam Faris | Michigan |
Representative Erika Geiss | Michigan |
Representative Christine Greig | Michigan |
Senator Curtis Hertel | Michigan |
Senator David Knezek | Michigan |
Representative Kristy Pagan | Michigan |
Senator Rebekah Warren | Michigan |
Representative Robert Wittenberg | Michigan |
Representative Donna Laskinski | Michigan |
Representative Jeremy Moss | Michigan |
Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn | Minnesota |
Representative Raymond Dehn | Minnesota |
Senator D. Scott Dibble | Minnesota |
Representative Mike Freiberg | Minnesota |
Representative Frank Hornstein | Minnesota |
House Minority Leader Melissa Hortman | Minnesota |
Representative Fue Lee | Minnesota |
Representative Carlos Mariani | Minnesota |
Representative Sandra Masin | Minnesota |
Representative Erin Maye Quade | Minnesota |
Representative Rena Moran | Minnesota |
Representative Liz Olson | Minnesota |
Representative Ilhan Omar | Minnesota |
Senator Sandy Pappas | Minnesota |
Representative Dave Pinto | Minnesota |
Representative Linda Slocum | Minnesota |
Representative JoAnn Ward | Minnesota |
Representative Kathy Sykes | Mississippi |
Representative Richard Brown | Missouri |
Representative Stacey Newman | Missouri |
Representative Sarah Unsicker | Missouri |
Representative Cora Faith Walker | Missouri |
Senator Mary Caferro | Montana |
Representative Mary Ann Dunwell | Montana |
Representative Ellie Hill-Smith | Montana |
Representative Jessica Karjala | Montana |
Representative Andrea Olsen | Montana |
Senator JP Pomnichowski | Montana |
Senator Diane Sands | Montana |
Senator Frank Smith | Montana |
Senator Sara Howard | Nebraska |
Assemblymember Amber Joiner | Nevada |
Senator Julia Ratti | Nevada |
Assemblywoman Ellen Spiegel | Nevada |
Assemblymember Steven Yeager | Nevada |
Representative Susan Almy | New Hampshire |
Representative Debra Altschiller | New Hampshire |
Representative Christy Bartlett | New Hampshire |
Representative Amanda Bouldin | New Hampshire |
Representative Renny Cushing | New Hampshire |
Representative Edith DesMarais | New Hampshire |
Representative Charlotte DiLorenzo | New Hampshire |
Representative Daniel Eaton | New Hampshire |
Senator Martha Fuller Clark | New Hampshire |
Representative Chuck Grassie | New Hampshire |
Representative Timothy Horrigan | New Hampshire |
Representative Mark King | New Hampshire |
Representative Peter Leishman | New Hampshire |
Representative Patricia Lovejoy | New Hampshire |
Representative Richard McNamara | New Hampshire |
Representative Sharon Nordgren | New Hampshire |
Representative Allison Nutting | New Hampshire |
Representative Lee Oxenham | New Hampshire |
Representative Marjorie Porter | New Hampshire |
Representative Katherine Rogers | New Hampshire |
Representative Cindy Rosenwald | New Hampshire |
Representative Kris Schultz | New Hampshire |
Minority Leader Stephen Shurtleff | New Hampshire |
Representative Ivy Vann | New Hampshire |
Senator David Watters | New Hampshire |
Assemblyman Raj Mukherji | New Jersey |
Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle | New Jersey |
Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg | New Jersey |
Representative Deborah Armstrong | New Mexico |
Senator Elizabeth Stefanics | New Mexico |
Senator Mimi Stewart | New Mexico |
Representative Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson | New Mexico |
Representative Christine Trujillo | New Mexico |
Assemblymember David Buchwald | New York |
Assemblymember Deborah Glick | New York |
Assemblymember Richard Gottfried | New York |
Senator Liz Krueger | New York |
Assemblymember Felix Ortiz | New York |
Assemblywoman Christine Pellegrino | New York |
Assemblymember Dan Quart | New York |
Senator Gustavo Rivera | New York |
Assemblymember JoAnne Simon | New York |
Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins | New York |
Representative John Autry | North Carolina |
Representative Mary Belk | North Carolina |
Representative Cecil Brockman | North Carolina |
Representative Deb Butler | North Carolina |
Senator Jay Chaudhuri | North Carolina |
Representative Susan Fisher | North Carolina |
Senator Valerie Foushee | North Carolina |
Representative Rosa Gill | North Carolina |
Representative Pricey Harrison | North Carolina |
Representative Verla Insko | North Carolina |
Senator Floyd McKissick | North Carolina |
Representative Graig Meyer | North Carolina |
Representative Marcia Morey | North Carolina |
Representative Bobbi Richardson | North Carolina |
Senator Terry Van Duyn | North Carolina |
Senator Mike Woodard | North Carolina |
Representative Nickie Antonio | Ohio |
Representative Tavia Galonski | Ohio |
Representative Stephanie Howse | Ohio |
Representative Adam Miller | Ohio |
Representative Kent Smith | Ohio |
Representative Emilia Strong Sykes | Ohio |
Representative Thomas West | Ohio |
Representative Karen Gaddis | Oklahoma |
Representative Emily Virgin | Oklahoma |
Representative Julie Fahey | Oregon |
Senator Lew Frederick | Oregon |
Senator Sara Gelser | Oregon |
Representative Pam Marsh | Oregon |
Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson | Oregon |
Representative Carla Piluso | Oregon |
Representative Karin Power | Oregon |
Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson | Oregon |
Representative Brad Witt | Oregon |
Representative Carolyn Committa | Pennsylvania |
Representative Mary Jo Daley | Pennsylvania |
Representative Dan Frankel | Pennsylvania |
Representative Ed Gainey | Pennsylvania |
Senator Art Haywood | Pennsylvania |
Representative Leanne Krueger-Braneky | Pennsylvania |
Representative Steve McCarter | Pennsylvania |
Representative Chris Rabb | Pennsylvania |
Representative Mike Schlossberg | Pennsylvania |
Representative Peter Schweyer | Pennsylvania |
Representative Tim Briggs | Pennsylvania |
Representative Tina Davis | Pennsylvania |
Representative Sara Innamorato | Pennsylvania |
Representative Edith Ajello | Rhode Island |
Senator Jeanine Calkin | Rhode Island |
Senator Dawn Euer | Rhode Island |
Senator Gayle Goldin | Rhode Island |
Representative Jeremiah O'Grady | Rhode Island |
Representative Evan Shanley | Rhode Island |
Representative Teresa Tanzi | Rhode Island |
Senator Margie Bright Matthews | South Carolina |
Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter | South Carolina |
Representative Steven McCleerey | South Dakota |
Representative Susan Wismer | South Dakota |
Representative G.A. Hardaway | Tennessee |
Senator Lee Harris | Tennessee |
Representative Jessica Farrar | Texas |
Representative Mary Gonzalez | Texas |
Representative Elizabeth Weight | Utah |
Representative Tim Briglin | Vermont |
Representative Robin Chesnut-Tangerman | Vermont |
Majority Leader Sarah Copeland-Hanzas | Vermont |
Representative Diana González | Vermont |
Representative Maxine Grad | Vermont |
Majority Leader Jill Krowinski | Vermont |
Representative James McCullough | Vermont |
Representative Mike Mrowicki | Vermont |
Representative Ann Pugh | Vermont |
Representative Barbara Rachelson | Vermont |
Representative Valerie Stuart | Vermont |
Delegate Jennifer Boysko | Virginia |
Senator Barbara Favola | Virginia |
Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn | Virginia |
Delegate Kaye Kory | Virginia |
Senator Jennifer McClellan | Virginia |
Delegate Marcia Price | Virginia |
Delegate Elizabeth Guzman | Viriginia |
Delegate Mark Keam | Viriginia |
Representative Eileen Cody | Washington |
Senator Jeannie Darneille | Washington |
Representative Beth Doglio | Washington |
Representative Joe Fitzgibbon | Washington |
Senator Karen Keiser | Washington |
Senate Majority Leader Sharon Nelson | Washington |
Senator Kevin Ranker | Washington |
Representative Tana Senn | Washington |
Representative Derek Stanford | Washington |
Representative Gael Tarleton | Washington |
Senator Lisa Wellman | Washington |
Representative Terese Berceau | Wisconsin |
Senator Janet Bewley | Wisconsin |
Senator LaTonya Johnson | Wisconsin |
Representative Debra Kolste | Wisconsin |
Senator Chris Larson | Wisconsin |
Representative Melissa Sargent | Wisconsin |
Representative Christine Sinicki | Wisconsin |
Representative Lisa Subeck | Wisconsin |
Representative Chris Taylor | Wisconsin |
Representative JoCasta Zamarripa | Wisconsin |
Minority Floor Leader Cathy Connolly | Wyoming |