RALEIGH, NC–– Yesterday, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) and State Senator Natalie Murdock joined local advocates at Free & Just’s “Ride to Decide” national bus tour event in Raleigh to highlight what’s at stake as extremist lawmakers work to ban abortion nationwide. The “Ride to Decide” bus tour comes as attacks on reproductive freedom escalate across the country. Support for legal abortion has increased since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, but that hasn’t stopped anti-abortion extremists and conservative lawmakers from continuing to undermine Americans’ access to abortion care, birth control, and IVF treatment. 

The event, co-hosted by NextGen America and Men4Choice began with a brief press conference before young men of color from the Raleigh area participated in a roundtable to highlight why men must engage in the fight for reproductive freedom. 

“Young women and their families don’t have the freedom to decide when and how to have children, and older women are appalled that their daughters and granddaughters have fewer rights than they did just four years ago,” said Congresswoman Deborah Ross, who fought to protect access to abortion and reproductive health care during her time in the state legislature, and continues to lead efforts to protect access to IVF treatment and reproductive health care in Congress. “Even more alarming, many Republicans are actively calling for a national abortion ban, and they’ve shown us time and again that they won't stop at abortion. Everything from birth control pills to IVF and more are in peril.”

“Folks are working night and day to roll the clock back,” said State Senator Natalie Murdock, who blasted extremist lawmakers in the U.S. Senate for refusing to protect access to contraception earlier this summer. In July, Senator Murdock co-sponsored legislation in the North Carolina Senate to preserve access to contraception across the state. “Unfortunately, my extremist colleagues have no issue restricting reproductive rights. We just marked the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, and our collective nightmare continues each and every day. Just as we feared, extremist lawmakers are not stopping at abortion bans – they are just getting started.”

“When we think about reproductive freedom as ‘only about women,’ we lose sight of what it means to control a body,” said Dewayne Martin, the Youth Organizing Director of Men4Choice, an organization dedicated to educating and engaging men in the fight for reproductive freedom. During the roundtable, Martin urged others to think about how attacks on reproductive freedom affect all communities, and to consider the implications for other rights that we hold dear. “When we put the politics aside, what we’re really talking about is how we can exist without the control of another person.”

“What we are living through right now is historic. Millions of people across this country are reeling from attacks on reproductive freedom, and people are losing their lives,” said Antonio Arellano with NextGen America, who urged all North Carolinians to stand up for reproductive freedom and push back on attacks on abortion rights. “In this moment, there is no time to sit idly by. In this moment, we must rise up to meet this moment, and it’s going to require all of us.”

“It’s so important to sit and listen to actual stories about how bad laws affect the lives of other human beings,” said Chris Williams, a college student and Men4Choice fellow. “Hearing the stories of people who were negatively impacted by bad policy around reproductive freedom is really effective. You start to think “hey, someone was actually affected by this – I have to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

“We have to make sure we’re committed and staying intertwined in the effort so that ten years down the line, our kids are invested in these issues, and that things are better for them,” said Lamair T. Bryan, an organizer and the Triangle Region Coordinator for Advance Carolina and the North Carolina Black Alliance.

The “Ride to Decide” tour is headed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania next, where local storytellers will spotlight the real-life impacts of abortion bans and attacks on reproductive freedom and share why federal action to protect access to abortion and reproductive health care has never been more important.

You can watch the press conference and the roundtable here. If you are interested in speaking with any of the participants in the press event, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us. 

Free & Just is committed to fighting for reproductive freedom. Join us in sharing stories, raising voices, and securing our future. 

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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.