The Forward Fight for U.S. Abortion Rights

When laws move backwards, stripping away our rights, the Center for Reproductive Rights fights forward. Join #TheForwardFight for U.S. abortion rights and access today.

The fall of Roe v. Wade one year ago brought devastating consequences to people across the U.S. as anti-abortion state lawmakers acted swiftly to strip away our reproductive rights. Abortion is now illegal in more than a dozen states, leaving millions without access to essential, time-sensitive health care—even when facing severe pregnancy complications and risks to their health and lives.

This is the reality of a year without Roe.

But the loss of Roe has ignited a powerful movement to fight forward. This is the moment to work not only to restore our rights, but to build a better future with new and stronger legal protections for reproductive autonomy.

Read “One Year Without Roe v. Wade,” a statement from Nancy Northup, Center President and CEO. (Find the Spanish language version here.)

We need you with us for this long fight ahead. Read more below and join #TheForwardFight today.

Here are just a few of the faces of the forward fight: The Center’s CEO on the fight ahead. Women who battled for their health and lives after being denied abortion care in Texas. A Center attorney tirelessly fighting in court for these and other clients. Center leaders offering a global perspective.

Take a look at their stories—and find out below how you can join #TheForwardFight.

Use passcode ?^sd#U2+ to access the replay.

After the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion, anti-abortion lawmakers acted swiftly to revive old pre-Roe bans and pass new bans and restrictions, causing chaos and confusion and a public health emergency across the country. More than 1/5 of the U.S. population lives in states where abortion is now illegal.

After the Supreme Court’s devastating decision—and despite the relentless attacks on abortion rights—the Center continued to fight forward, using every possible legal and advocacy tool to mitigate harm, prevent further regression, and establish new legal protections for reproductive autonomy.

Those efforts have already yielded new protections in several states:

• New state constitutional rights to abortion after landmark rulings from state supreme courts in South Carolina, North Dakota, and Oklahoma.

• Ballot victories in all six states where abortion was up for a vote—including the adoption of new constitutional protections in Michigan, Vermont and California.

• Abortion bans blocked or delayed in seven states, keeping clinics open to provide essential abortion care.

• New interstate shield laws in 15 states and the District of Columbia to protect abortion providers, patients and helpers across state lines.

The Center has also brought worldwide attention to the harm of U.S. abortion bans through its lawsuit representing Texas women denied abortion care after facing severe and dangerous pregnancy complications.

Strengthen rights and access—state-by-state, law-by-law.

• Build state constitutional protections through litigation and the ballot; advance proactive state policies protecting access across state lines; and repeal medically unnecessary restrictions still in law.

Bring the fight directly to states that have banned abortion and endangered their residents.

• Expose the dreadful harms of abortion bans; ensure access for pregnancy complications and health emergencies; and provide support for people navigating abortion bans.

Secure new federal protections for abortion.  

• Advance the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) in Congress with the support of new partners in local government, businesses, and faith and educational communities; engage with the White House and federal agencies for administrative protections; and block federal anti-abortion measures.

We hope you’re with us for #TheForwardFight ahead.

We need you with us for #TheForwardFight. Here’s how you can help right now:

1. Learn about abortion laws and policies in your state and across the country.

• Get up to speed with the Center’s After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State map and other tools, resources and analyses, and sign up for email updates to stay in the loop.

2. Get loud about abortion rights and access.

• Talk about your support for abortion rights and access with people in your circle. Conversations with friends, family, colleagues and community members are often influential.

3. Tell your elected officials to restore your rights.

• Urge your Congressional representatives to support the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which would reestablish our nationwide right to abortion. And don’t forget to contact your state representatives, who now have significant power when it comes to protecting reproductive rights in your state.

4. Follow the Center on social and spread the word.

• Join a community of like-minded reproductive rights supporters on Instagram, Twitter,  Facebook and LinkedIn and share our content with your networks. You can also text FORWARD to REPRO (73776) to receive updates in real time about our work.

5. Help provide on-the-ground support to clinics and people seeking abortion care.

• Donate directly to small, community-based abortion clinics that provide most of the abortion care in the U.S. at KeepOurClinics.org and to abortion funds that provide transportation, lodging and financial support to people seeking abortion care at AbortionFunds.org.

6. Support the Center for Reproductive Rights.

• Your donation to the Center—big or small—helps our team of legal experts continue the fight for reproductive rights and access, both in the courts and beyond.

Prepare for your forward fight by exploring the Center’s research and analysis on the legal principles and issues pertaining to U.S. abortion rights, the harm of abortion bans, and more.