FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2022
CONTACT: Rachel Koelzer, rachel@nakasec.org
NAKASEC Statement on the Inhumane Draft by SCOTUS to Overturn Roe v. Wade
Washington, D.C. – NAKASEC shares profound outrage at the draft majority opinion that leaked on May 2, 2022, in which five (5) Supreme Court justices – Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett – expressed their support in overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. At this time, Roe v. Wade still stands and abortion is still legal. NAKASEC strongly believes that all individuals – women, men, and gender-nonconforming – should have access to reproductive care including but not limited to, access to abortion.
The implication of overturning Roe v. Wade, which since 1973 has prohibited states from implementing pre-viability abortion bans, is that states would be able to enact abortion bans at will. This would leave nearly 40 million women in 26 states without any access to abortion. Currently, 13 states have trigger laws, meaning they would automatically ban abortion in the first and second trimesters the instant Roe v. Wade is overturned. Pending legislation in Texas, home of NAKASEC affiliate Woori Juntos, threatens to prohibit nearly all abortions.
The impact of the current Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case on Asian Americans cannot be overstated. Asian Americans are the strongest supporters of access to abortion in the country, with seven out of 10 supporting the legalization of abortion. Furthermore, ninety-three percent of AAPI women believe that women should have the right to abortion access.
Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ) states, “controlling a [person’s] body controls [their] life, [their] options and [their] potential… thus, controlling [individuals] becomes a strategic pathway to regulating entire communities.” Reproductive control as a form of social control spans the medical field’s regulation of Black women’s fertility during slavery, historical sterilization in indigenous communities, and longstanding inequities in abortion access including cost and lack of access to travel and healthcare for undocumented individuals. Immigrants especially would have to weigh decisions that endanger their lives and well-being at every turn. Whether risking travel and encounters with ICE and CBP, or one’s health and well-being, immigrants who already face marginalization will be especially harmed without access to safe abortions. State criminalization of abortion would moreover transform healthcare into yet another prison pipeline for communities of color.
Immigrant justice is reproductive justice. The leaked draft strikes a blow upon our community. We must join together to express our outrage at this deeply inhumane effort. We strongly urge Congress to enshrine abortion access into law and make clear that individuals have the right to make decisions about their own bodies.
TAKE ACTION NOW: We encourage our supporters to donate to on-the-ground abortion funds, especially abortion funds in hostile states.
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Founded in 1994, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)’s mission is to organize Korean and Asian Americans to achieve social, economic, and racial justice. The NAKASEC Network is HANA Center (Illinois), Hamkae Center (fka NAKASEC VA) (Virginia), Woori Center (Pennsylvania), MinKwon Center for Community Action (New York) and Woori Juntos (Texas).
