WCC Statement on ongoing attacks on women’s healthcare

“Women’s health in this country is being used as a political football, and it must stop. The latest attack—earlier this month when a Texas judge suspended FDA approval of a well-established, safe, and effective medication used in more than half of abortions in the United States—has been thwarted for now. Still, confusion ensued. This time, the Supreme Court intervened to force the appeals process to continue, but this cycle will not end until it is clear to policy-makers, elected officials, and judges that decisions about women’s health must be made by women with the informed advice of their doctors.

When Women Creating Change, then the Women’s City Club of New York, opened the nation’s first maternity center for underserved women in 1918, New York City women were dying during pregnancy, childbirth, and post-partum at horrific rates. The clinic proved effective in reducing maternal deaths and became a model in public health circles around the country. Even so, women have continued to face challenges obtaining care through the years. With each effort to dismantle access to women’s health, the system stumbles. Consequently, women and doctors become unsure of their options, and irreversible harm is done—especially to historically disenfranchised women with fewer resources. This is why women must harness their voices, ensure they’re heard, and refuse to be complacent, so that decisions about our lives are made by us. WCC works with women to become civically engaged—equipping them to advocate for themselves and their communities— because women must play a central role in determining our rights. We are strongest when we work together, and only together can we create lasting change.”

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