Near-total abortion bans passed in Alabama, Georgia, and four other states, effectively outlaw abortion care. These bills do not represent a chipping away of abortion access.  They are not enacting waiting periods, or mandating inane descriptions of fetuses be read to patients. These six states have effectively outlawed abortion before most people even know they are pregnant. They endanger lives and threaten draconian tactics to force us to carry our pregnancies to term, against our will, regardless of our personal circumstances or viability of the fetus.

Young people, including youth of color and those living in poverty represent those most impacted by these abortion bans. Youth are the least likely to recognize signs of early pregnancy when any even exist, and many do not have the resources to travel to a more humane state to obtain abortion care when they need it.

This Administration along with extremist politician at the state and local level, deny young people honest sex education and restrict their access to sexual health services; and now they have also stripped them of their bodily autonomy and right to decide if or when they should begin a family. No one, least of all young people, should be forced to carry a pregnancy they did not plan and do not want to term. Youth will not sit idly by while their basic rights and self-determination are trampled. They are fighting back every day – leading protests, sharing their abortion stories and organizing to protect abortion access.  They are moving this country forward, not backward and we need to follow their lead.