“Today, on the 39th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, the battles over women’s access to reproductive health services rage on.

In 2011, the number of abortion restrictions introduced in state legislatures reached a three-decade high. Such laws — like the ultrasound law in Texas, which requires providers to perform ultrasounds and describe the fetus — aren’t just problematic in that they put barriers between women and their health care. These laws are bad for women’s health. They require unnecessary and invasive procedures not recommended by doctors. This is especially problematic when women are directed or tricked into seeking care at crisis pregnancy centers — which often have no qualified medical professionals on staff.

Women deserve sound medical advice from actual medical professionals. They deserve high-quality medical care. And they deserve reliable access to the full range of reproductive health services.
Right now, not only is access to abortion services out of reach for many women, but so is birth control, maternity care, and social services to help them raise healthy families.

As a nation, we must recommit to protecting women’s health through secure access to affordable, high-quality reproductive health services. Restricting women’s health services is simply intolerable. It’s time for these battles to end.”