Statement from The Carter Center on the Overturning of Roe v. Wade

The Carter Center is deeply disappointed with today’s Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade, which puts women’s health at risk by denying them the right to make their own health-care decisions.

“Taking medical care out of the hands of women and their doctors will undermine the health and well-being of half the nation’s population,” said Paige Alexander, CEO of The Carter Center. “Regardless of your position on abortion, we should all agree on better health care for all Americans. And the net effect of today’s ruling will be worse health outcomes for women – especially marginalized groups who suffer the most when rights are not protected.”

The Carter Center works to promote peace and health and to relieve people of unnecessary suffering. Today’s ruling will inflict undue pain, especially on women of color, the impoverished, and victims of sexual violence. The United States already ranks last out of 11 developed countries for maternal mortality, and this ruling will put even more women at risk. This ruling will also enable more states to prohibit access to abortion in cases of rape and incest, further traumatizing these victims.

The Carter Center urges Americans to press for state laws that protect health care as a human right and uphold the right for all citizens to make their own decisions about their health, their bodies, and their futures.

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Contact: Matthew De Galan, Matthew.DeGalan@cartercenter.org

 
The Carter Center 
Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope. 

 A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.