For nearly 50 years, the National Partnership for Women & Families has fought to protect the rights of women seeking abortion care. Today, our nation’s highest Court has reinforced that right by rejecting Louisiana’s Admitting Privileges Law and affirming their earlier decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. This Supreme Court decision will long be remembered as a milestone in the battle for dignity, equity and autonomy, when it comes to decisions about whether and when to parent.

We salute the courageous Louisiana advocates and leaders, who refused to back down and led the way to this victory. We are also proud to have been one of the 72 signers on an amicus brief filed by the National Women’s Law Center.

While we have won this round, this fight is not over. Right-wing politicians continue to formulate new regulations and medically unnecessary restrictions. They ignore the fact that a majority of people in the U.S. agree that abortion should remain legal. However, we also know that the legal right to an abortion is meaningless without access to one.

Restrictions hit marginalized communities the hardest: low-income people, people of color, LGBTQ people, rural people, and young people. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these disparities in every aspect of health and abortion care. Congress can take an important step to protect abortion access by passing the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), legislation that removes barriers and medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion care.

We, along with thousands more, will be watching and waiting for Congress to do the right thing.