Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, Thursday, January 22, 2026, marks 53 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade, which recognized the constitutional right to privacy and guaranteed the right to abortion across the United States. That right was ripped away when Trump’s Supreme Court overturned Roe through the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on June 24, 2022. Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) and Vice Chairs Emilia Sykes (OH-13) and Hillary Scholten (MI-03) issued the following statement on today’s solemn Roe v. Wade anniversary, just days after the one- year anniversary of the Trump administration:

“Every woman deserves access to reproductive care so she can make the best health care decisions for her based on her own faith, her own doctor’s advice, and her own loved ones, without interference from the government or politicians. This is what Roe v. Wade affirmed back in 1973. Tragically, today, nearly four years after the Supreme Court ripped away the right to abortion, twenty-two states have implemented full or partial abortion bans. Women across the country have bled to death, become infertile or septic, and been forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term because they couldn’t get abortion care or help with pregnancy complications due to these bans. Our hearts break for the women we’ve lost and the women who can’t get care, but they remind us why we’re in this fight. We will not stop working until every woman everywhere has access to safe, affordable, and accessible abortion care.”

BACKGROUND:

Today, January 22, 2026, following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade through the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on June 24, 2022, abortion care is banned or severely restricted in 22 states and counting, making it functionally inaccessible for millions of people. 

Patients are forced to travel for care, endure dangerous delays, or carry life-threatening pregnancies. Doctors are threatened with criminal penalties for providing routine, evidence-based medical care. Back-and-forth court decisions, not science, are now dictating state policies on abortion. In too many states, abortion bans have already put lives at risk and created chaos in emergency rooms, maternity wards, and clinics nationwide. 

Furthermore, the attacks on reproductive health care since the start of the Trump administration, one year ago Tuesday, have devastated women across America. Just over the last year, the administration has repealed reproductive health care access measures for veterans and servicemembers, “defunded” Planned Parenthood, dismissed essential personnel at HHS, pardoned dangerous criminals who attacked abortion clinics, and cut roughly $1 billion from Medicaid. Each of these attacks has caused significant harm, with a disproportionate impact on people of color, young people, low-income and rural communities, and veterans. These attacks have further eroded access to abortion care and contraception and undermined the rights of medical professionals to do their jobs. 

For information on your reproductive rights, please visit the Reproductive Freedom Caucus resources here.