Center for Reproductive Rights Statement on Election of Donald Trump as 45th President of the United States

(PRESS RELEASE) Today the Center for Reproductive Rights called on president-elect Trump to reject the extreme and divisive positions taken during his campaign and reassure American women that their fundamental constitutional and human rights will be respected and protected during his administration, specifically pointing to the real threat a Trump presidency could present to the landmark decision in Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt.

Said Nancy Northup, president and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights:

“Make no mistake: Donald Trump’s proposed policies pose a direct threat to the constitutional protections recognized by Roe v. Wade and resoundingly reaffirmed in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.  Our country now stands perilously close to a return to the dark days when women were forced to put their own lives at risk to get safe and legal abortion care. It is 2016, and our leaders should build on the historic advancements we’ve made for women’s health and rights, not threaten to undo them.

“President-elect Trump has publicly pledged to overturn Roe and promised punishment for the one in three American women who will have an abortion in her lifetime.  When a woman decides to end a pregnancy, she needs safe, high-quality care–not a prison sentence. 

“The Center for Reproductive Rights will continue to harness the momentum of the recent victory in Whole Woman’s Health and is ready to bring the full force of the law in order to oppose any attacks on reproductive freedom in the courts and Congress.”

In addition to his alarming remarks regarding making abortion illegal and “punishment” for women who have had abortions, president-elect Trump has also pledged to defund Planned Parenthood and strengthen the dangerous and discriminatory Hyde Amendment.

Additionally, President-elect Trump has repeatedly stated he would nominate justices hostile to abortion rights to the Supreme Court—a particularly alarming promise since he may have the opportunity to nominate at least one Supreme Court justice. Senate Republicans have blocked a vote on President Obama’s current nominee, Merrick Garland, for 237 days – more than 100 days longer than any other nominee in history – while insisting that the vacancy be filled by the incoming administration.

The importance of judicial appointments was recently illustrated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt—the most significant abortion-related ruling from the Court in more than two decades.  Whole Woman’s Health—which was the result of a legal challenge to two Texas laws brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights–reaffirmed a woman’s constitutional right to access abortion and made clear that states cannot pass sham restrictions on abortion.