Below is the letter we will send to local District Attorneys:
Tell Your DA #AbortionIsHealthcare
It has been one year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion and demolishing a precedent that stood for half a century.
Color Of Change Member, banning abortion does not stop people from needing abortions, and lives are put at risk when lawmakers restrict access to reproductive care. Even now, access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill, hangs in the balance as an appeals process plays out – first at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and then, potentially, back at the Supreme Court. The anger, confusion, and frustration we've seen over the past year are precisely what anti-abortion activists and politicians have worked for decades to create.
As abortion bans and restrictions continue to gain traction, Black women, trans, and non-binary folks will be hit hardest. But the fight isn't over. State and local officials still hold the power to decide if and when an abortion is permitted. State attorneys general and local prosecutors can choose whether a pregnant receives an abortion – or a prison sentence.
By demanding prosecutors use their discretion to keep law enforcement out of health decisions, we can make it just a little bit safer for pregnant people caught in this widespread attack on reproductive freedom.
Sign the petition: Demand prosecutors say “NO” to criminalizing abortions and other pregnancy outcomes.
Here is the Petition:
As a prosecutor, you have an opportunity to take the right step in enforcing full humanity, dignity, and autonomy for pregnant people.
We are calling on you to make a commitment to refuse to criminalize pregnancy based on pregnancy outcomes. Because we believe that no one should be forced to undergo the threat of arrest and incarceration because of an abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, or any other outcome.
You have the power to intervene and get ahead of potential criminalization by committing to exercise your discretion and refusing to prosecute based on pregnancy outcomes.
Here are the demands:
- Firm commitment to not prosecute abortion as well as other pregnancy outcomes and a public stance reaffirming this position.
- A declination policy that ensures child-bearers will not be prosecuted for their pregnancy outcomes and that feticide laws will not be used as a proxy for punishing pregnancy loss, including but not limited to:
- Refusing to prosecute pregnant people related to miscarriages, stillbirths, or any form of pregnancy loss.
- Refusing to prosecute pregnant people related to actions during pregnancy, including medically-assisted or self-managed abortion, drug use/possession/distribution during pregnancy where the fetus, embryo, or fertilized egg is the alleged recipient, attempted suicide, fighting, or car accidents.
Now is the time for you to take this monumental step toward doing what’s right for our communities. The time for you to act is now by saying NO to criminalizing pregnancy.