Published: June 24, 2022

“We expected the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to overturn Roe v. Wade after the draft opinion was leaked to the media in the spring. While we are not surprised, this is a dark day in our nation’s history, with the courts chipping away at women’s rights over their own bodies.

We are committed to ensuring people in Oregon have access to safe reproductive health services. The ruling will not affect individual states’ ability to allow access to abortion services and we stand firm on our commitment to protect our union members’ rights here in Oregon, where we know this right is protected. We also know that Oregonians have continued to overwhelming support a woman’s right to choose at the ballot box, but at the same time many women across our country lost access to abortion this morning.  

Nearly half of the states taking away that right impacts all of us.  We are proud to be Oregonians as women’s health care is valued and protected, it is not enough, and we must fight for protections for everyone across our nation.

Abortion is health care, and with today’s decision, and as Oregonians, we must fight to keep women’s health care as it is here in Oregon across the nation.  Freedom matters, our rights matter, we will not be still.

Today’s decision is a gender, racial and economic justice catastrophe with deadly consequences. The impacts will fall hardest on Women of Color, who have the highest maternal mortality crises.  We have lost the most basic of freedoms and we will fight for our siblings across the nation who have lost this right.

We remain very concerned about the impact this ruling will have on people at the low-income end of the pay scale and communities of color, and will fight for their right to have access to the services they need, regardless of their ability to pay.”

–Melissa Unger, SEIU 503 Executive Director
–Stephanie Prentiss, University of Oregon, Co-Chair, Women’s Committee
–Ivonne Rivero, Homecare Worker, Co-Chair, Women’s Committee