At “Ride to Decide” National Bus Tour Event in Houston, Patients Who Sued Texas Over Abortion Ban, Health Care Providers, and Community Leaders Demand Federal Action to Protect Reproductive Freedom

HOUSTON, TEXAS –– Today, Free & Just’s “Ride to Decide” national bus tour arrived in Houston 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. 

At the event, Amanda Zurawski and Samantha Casiano, who sued the state of Texas after being denied care joined health care providers, and community members to highlight how attacks on reproductive freedom harm women and families in Texas and across the country.

“I went to Washington, DC to beg our senators to do something about this crisis, and they couldn’t even be bothered to be in the room while I was testifying,” said Amanda Zurawski, who went into septic shock twice and nearly lost her life after being denied an abortion in Texas is 2022. Zurawski sued the state of Texas, but her challenge was recently rejected by the state’s Supreme Court in a devastating blow to patients across Texas. “The way to fix this problem is to continue to tell our stories. We need to have these conversations with the people that we care about, and we need to have them often. We need them to understand what is at stake and why they should care.”

“Medical boards and lawmakers will tell us that there are exceptions to abortion bans, but where? I was not an ‘exception,’ Amanda Zurawski was not an ‘exception,’” said Samantha Casiano, a mother of four who was forced to give birth to her daughter, Halo, in 2023, despite knowing that she would survive just a few hours. “Women aren’t being granted exceptions, and people need to see that.” Casiano joined the women suing the state as a plaintiff in Zurawski v. Texas, and continues to share what happened to her family, despite how painful it is reliving the experience. 

“When abortion is banned, people don’t stop needing access to this care. It’s these people who I think about every time a new restriction is passed,” said Dr. Bhavik Kumar, a local abortion provider and family medicine physician who serves as the Medical Director for Primary and Trans Care at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. “Anti-abortion extremists will not stop until abortion care is completely banned in the entire country. Their tactics are ruthless and senseless.”

“It’s just as normal to feel dread about a pregnancy as it is to feel excitement – what is not normal is conservative politicians thinking that they get to have any kind of feelings about your pregnancy,” said Micaela, a nurse midwife in the Houston area who shared how Texas’ strict abortion ban has changed the practice environment for health care providers across the state. “I have seen friends and colleagues – nurses, midwives, and physicians alike – leave Texas altogether because they’re tired of politicians trying to practice medicine, and they’re unwilling to work in a state that threatens to sue them for taking care of people.”

“We know it doesn’t have to be this way,” said Gjabrielle Guterrez, the Managing Director of Deeds Not Words, an organization which seeks to elevate the voices and power of young women through civic engagement and advocacy training. “That’s why we’re fighting to hold lawmakers for harmful attacks on the people and families in our communities. We all deserve better.”

The “Ride to Decide” tour is headed to Louisiana next, where local storytellers in Baton Rouge and Shreveport 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 event 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.

At “Ride to Decide” Bus Tour Event in Austin, Mother Who Sued Texas Over Abortion Ban, Former Under Sec. Gina Ortiz Jones, and Local Leaders Highlight What’s at Stake for Reproductive Freedom

AUSTIN, TEXAS –– Today, Free & Just’s “Ride to Decide'' national bus tour stopped in Austin 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. 
At the event, local patient storytellers, community members, and Councilwoman Fuentes shared how attacks on reproductive freedom harm women and families in Texas and across the country.

“I truly cannot emphasize the fear I felt while arranging flights to flee the state for care, worried I’d be arrested in the airport,” said Taylor Edwards, a mother who was forced to travel to Colorado for care when she learned that her baby had encephalocele, a defect of the neural tube that meant the baby would not survive outside the womb. “Situations like mine are not unique, and Texans are faced with this every single day. Reproductive rights are under attack, IVF is under attack, birth control is under attack, and abortion is under attack. We have to stand together and fight against these attacks, because they will just get more extreme.”

Edwards joined women from across Texas as a plaintiff in Zurawski v. State of Texas, the first-of-its-kind legal challenge that sought to provide clarity for doctors and patients experiencing medical emergencies in Texas. In May, their challenge was rejected by the state’s Supreme Court in a devastating blow to patients across Texas.

“We can’t forget that when abortion is ‘left up to the states,’ in places like Texas, that looks like forced sepsis, it looks like being forced to carry a fetus that is not going to be viable, and it means planning for a birth while at the same time, planning for a funeral,” said Former Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones, the first woman of color and LGBTQ+ individual to serve in this role, and a fearless advocate for reproductive freedom. “It’s inhumane, it’s cruel, and it is unnecessary. We can never forget that it does not have to be this way.”

“Here at the local-level, we will do everything we can to provide protection to Austinites,” said Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who represents Austin’s second district on the City Council. Council Member Fuentes urged local officials across the country to do everything they can to protect access to abortion care in their communities, even as attacks escalate at the federal-level. “Even in a state like Texas, there are things that we can and should be doing. Don’t let anyone tell you that local leaders can’t step up.” In 2022, Council Member Fuentes co-sponsored the GRACE Act, legislation to protect access to abortion care for everyone in the city.

“My story mirrors that of many others and emphasizes that health care provision cannot conform to one-size-fits-all legislation,” said DakotaRei Frausto, a college student and reproductive justice organizer from San Antonio who was forced to travel to New Mexico for abortion care at age 17 after Senate Bill 8 took effect in Texas. Frausto warned that attacks on access to reproductive health care have far-reaching and devastating implications for everyone. “Any attack on ‘unfavorable’ health care access inevitably impacts all health care access.”

“Our power to fight these regressive abortion bans is in community. We know this, and those robbing us of our reproductive autonomy know this. It is why these laws are written to break apart support systems and to leave abortion seekers isolated, ” said Joslynn Sanchez, a Policy and Advocacy Manager with Deeds Not Words, an organization dedicated to galvanizing the power of young people to become agents of change igniting cultural shifts through leader development, grassroots organizing, and the power of creative expression. “But where lawmakers fail is where communities and young people have chosen to fill the gaps. And we will eradicate these gaps and lapses of freedoms by galvanizing the power of youth to create change and progress. We won’t go back!”

“The fight here in Texas is more than just a fight to restore access to safe and legal abortion – it’s about our freedom to decide if and when we want to have a family,” said Andrea Flores, a gender justice advocacy organizer with MOVE Texas, an organization dedicated to building the political power of young people in underrepresented communities. “Our energy, our passion, and our determination are unmatched, and we will continue to fight for a future where reproductive justice is a reality for all. The young people in Texas are the tipping point for the nation.” 

The “Ride to Decide” tour is headed to San Antonio, then Houston, Texas 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 event 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.

At “Ride to Decide” Bus Tour Event in San Antonio, Councilwoman Cabello Havrda, Patients, and Local Advocates Spotlight Harms of Abortion Bans and Demand Federal Action to Protect Reproductive Freedom

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS –– Today, Free & Just’s “Ride to Decide'' national bus tour stopped in San Antonio 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. 

At the event, local patient storytellers, youth activists, and community leaders shared how attacks on reproductive freedom harm women and families in Texas and across the country.

“We’re seeing abortion bans are being coupled with birth control bans, gender-affirming care bans, IVF bans, and even prenatal testing bans,” said DakotaRei Frausto, a college student and reproductive justice organizer from San Antonio who was forced to travel to New Mexico for abortion care at age 17 after Senate Bill 8 took effect in Texas. “The proposed legislation goes on-and-on. They were never going to stop at banning abortion.” 

“Because of what the state of Texas is doing, our city has become the frontline of reproductive justice,” said Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda, who represents District 6 on the San Antonio City Council. Councilwoman Cabello Havrda highlighted how the city is working to meet the needs of communities across San Antonio as attacks on access to reproductive health care escalate. “It’s about more than just abortion, these policies affect all of our communities for a lifetime.”

“The rights that we were promised as children are being taken away from us,” said Oli De Los Santos, a Communications Coordinator with San Marcos Abortion Activists, an organization dedicated to advocating for reproductive justice through direct action, community building, and mutual aid. Explaining why reproductive freedom is a priority for young people in Texas and across the country, De Los Santos added: “The rights we learned about are now gone. That is why so many young people are so motivated right now.”

“We’re already seeing reports of OBGYN students, who are graduating and looking at where to practice, and Texas is not on their list,” said Former Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones, a San Antonio resident, who highlighted how Texas’ extreme abortion ban is driving would-be providers away from communities where access to reproductive health care is already limited. “Frankly, the laws in Texas are making it impossible for providers to uphold their oath to ‘do no harm.’”  

“We are focused on the rights we had and lost,” said Anissa Mancias, a Campus Organizer with Texas Rising, which aims to build the power of young people in communities across Texas. Mancias shared how difficult it is being a young person in Texas, watching as extremist lawmakers erode their freedoms. “We want to be heard, we want our rights back.”

The “Ride to Decide” tour is headed to Houston, Texas 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 event 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.

At “Ride to Decide” Bus Tour Event at Dallas Church That Helped “Jane Roe,” Patients Who Sued Texas Over State’s Abortion Ban Discuss What’s at Stake as Extremists Work to Ban Abortion Nationwide

DALLAS, TEXAS –– Today, Free & Just’s “Ride to Decide'' national bus tour stopped in Dallas for a roundtable event at the church that helped Jane Roe decades ago to highlight what’s at stake today as extremist lawmakers work to ban abortion nationwide. Amanda Zurawski and Lauren Miller, plaintiffs in Zurawski v. State of Texas, the first-of-its-kind legal challenge that sought to provide clarity for doctors and patients experiencing medical emergencies in Texas, joined Hollie Cunningham and religious leaders at the roundtable and shared their experience battling for reproductive freedom in Texas. 

“I was 18-weeks pregnant and, unfortunately, had complications that were irreversible. Rather than being given the care that I needed, which at the time would have been an abortion, I had to wait until I met one of the medical exceptions allowed under Texas law,” said Amanda Zurawski, who went into septic shock twice and nearly lost her life after being denied an abortion in 2022. “It’s not just my story I am sharing, it’s the story of so many others. The longer this goes on, the more harm and suffering will take place.” Zurawski sued the state of Texas, but her challenge was recently rejected by the state’s Supreme Court in a devastating blow to patients across Texas.

“My happy, healthy son Henry would not be here today if I had not gone out of state for an abortion,” said Lauren Miller, a mother who was forced to travel to Colorado for abortion in 2022 when she learned that one of the twin boys she was pregnant with had a number of fatal fetal conditions that threatened her life and the life of the other twin. “I was able to get the abortion that I needed, but it cost us thousands of dollars and three days of travel for a 15-minute procedure that I should have been able to get just two miles from where we are now.” 

Lauren joined Amanda and others as a plaintiff in Zurawski v. State of Texas, and she continues to fight so that no woman will be forced to endure what she did. Recently, Lauren shared her story with the House Ways and Means committee, but was frustrated by extremist lawmakers’ response.

"When I spoke to the House Ways and Means committee and told this story … I had just shared that story, and Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, whose district we’re in, just flipped her hair and said “well I’m gonna get us back on topic here,” and turned to another speaker. “That should not be how a politician views her constituents. We should not be that irrelevant.”

“Even with a clear medical need, Texas law forced me to flee my home state to get the care that I desperately needed,” said Hollie Cunningham, who was forced to leave the state twice in one year for abortion care after receiving devastating fetal diagnoses in two pregnancies. “The pain and fear of being denied the care needed in my home state will stay with me forever. It breaks my heart knowing that there are other families out there suffering with similar situations who might not have the ability to travel to get the care they need.”

“My faith was central to my decision to have an abortion many years ago,” said Reverend Deneen Robinson, the Executive Director of Truth Pregnancy Resource Center, a non-profit organization founded with the support of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas. Reverend Robinson described her experience accessing abortion care as loving and “God-centric.” “Now, part of why I do this work is because I believe that everyone should lovingly receive the care that they need because choice is central to having a faith construct.”

“It is part of our DNA here at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, to advocate for, and to lift up the voices of those fighting for the autonomy of their bodies, and for making the choices they want to make in this life,” said Reverend T. J. Fitzgerald, a Minister of Community Care and Community Engagement at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas. Reverend Fitzgerald described the church’s historic role in the movement for reproductive freedom, highlighting how “Jane Roe” met with church leaders in 1969. 

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 “Ride to Decide” tour is headed to Austin and San Antonio, Texas 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 event 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.

“Ride to Decide” National Bus Tour Arrives in Milwaukee to Highlight Harms of Abortion Bans as Extremists at RNC Attempt to Distance Themselves from Shameful Record on Reproductive Freedom

MILWAUKEE, WI –– Today, health care providers, patient advocates, religious leaders, and local community members joined Free & Just’s “Ride to Decide” national bus tour event in Milwaukee to set the record straight as conservatives at the Republican National Convention attempt to distance themselves from their long and shameful record of attacking access to abortion and reproductive health care. Speakers at the event also highlighted what’s at stake for Wisconsinites and people across the country as extremists 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. 

At the event, local patient storytellers, health care providers, and community members shared how attacks on reproductive freedom harm women and families in Wisconsin and across the country.

Speaking about the landscape after the fall of Roe,  Alenna Beroza, a medical student in Milwaukee said, “The ever-changing legal landscapes have shifted the focus of medical institutions and physicians to understanding and abiding by complicated laws, rather than focusing on what matters most – patient care and medical education,” and added that, “these laws have made people confused and scared, from patients to providers. People do not know what they can share with their doctor or where to turn.”

“One thing I learned in all of those clinics and in every congregation I have pastored is that people – whether they are Baptist or Catholic or Pentecostal or Hindu or Jewish or Muslim – they all get abortions. And they all use birth control. So stop lying to yourselves and thinking that a law that is passed will change anyone’s values. They do not change people’s values,” said Rev. Denise Cawley, a Unitarian Universalist Minister and a former Chaplain at Planned Parenthood. “We need to stop pretending there’s only on faith and one belief out there that should be allowed to influence health care, or your body, or if you use IVF, or what happens if you have a miscarriage or a pregnancy that’s unsafe or a body that doesn’t fit into the standard binaries of gender.”

“Abortion bans traumatize women. Lasting bodily damage occurs and women die. But physicians suffer as well,” said Dr. Callie Cox Bauer, an OBGYN from Milwaukee. “We know what care is needed, and we know that it is illegal to give it, and we are forced to watch people suffer for fear of being charged with a felony and possibly losing our medical license, because of policies made by white men that will never sit in our exam rooms or with our patients. They will never hear the cry of the mother whose baby has no brain, the patient that was raped, the mother that has 5 kids at home in an abusive relationship, or the teen that has big dreams to elevate out of poverty, or the little girl that was forced into sex work. They will never sit there with me and tell them they can try to get out of the state, or they must continue the pregnancy.”

“I’m angry because only one hospital in Wisconsin would offer the termination procedure for me to give Connor the grace of a painless death and a life that only felt love,” said Gracie Ladd, a nurse from Nashotah who was forced to travel out of state for abortion care when she learned that her son, Connor, was developing without a bladder or functioning kidneys, and had several serious heart defects that meant he would not survive more than a few minutes if she carried the pregnancy to term. “I’m angry because there is no guarantee in this state that I would not be labeled a murderer for making the compassionate choice. But mostly, I’m angry that people who weren’t in that ultrasound room with me while I received the news that tore my world apart got to decide whether or not I should be allowed to make this medical decision for myself.”

“Extremist lawmakers seek to enshrine into state or federal law one narrow religious belief that violates my First Amendment rights to follow and to impart to my community the teachings of Jewish law and tradition,” said Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, the Executive Director of Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice and former chair of the Wisconsin Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. “The extremists’ goals are laid bare in Project 2025, which would empower an authoritarian executive branch to enact broad restrictions on abortion and contraception access, among other extreme and dangerous proposals. Don’t let efforts to downplay this fool you, this is their goal.”

“While this is a deeply personal issue for me, I am also professionally aware of the disparate effect that this type of legislation has on already vulnerable populations,” said Dr. Laura Swoboda, a nurse practitioner based in Milwaukee who had an abortion herself. “Affluent Wisconsinites will still have access to travel to states where they can receive care, while those unable to afford this cost or the social and professional conflicts this creates are forced into situations against their will. These barriers to accessing care have been intentionally designed, not to protect the health of anyone but simply to prevent their access to healthcare.”

Next week, the “Ride to Decide” tour will travel through Texas, 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 event here. If you would like photos from the event or 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. 

###

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.

“Ride to Decide” Bus Tour Kickoff in Madison Brings Together Religious Leaders, Health Care Providers, and Patient Advocates to Spotlight Harms of Abortion Bans and Demand Federal Protections

MADISON, WI –– Today, former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, State Representative Lisa Subeck (AD-78), and Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All joined religious leaders, health care providers, and patient advocates to kick off Free & Just’s  nationwide “Ride to Decide” bus tour event in Madison. The Ride to Decide bus tour comes as conservatives at the Republican National Convention attempt to distance themselves from their long and shameful record of attacking access to abortion and reproductive health care. 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. 

At the event, local patient storytellers, health care providers, and community members shared how attacks on reproductive freedom harm women and families in Wisconsin and across the country.

“The extremists' anti-abortion playbook is nothing new, but it has expanded to include attacks on access to IVF treatment, restrictions on access to medication abortion, and even more,” said former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, who highlighted how attacks on access to reproductive health care continue to escalate. “Every time extremist lawmakers have an opportunity to protect access to reproductive health care at the federal level, they vote against freedom and they vote against American women. We need to do everything we can to hold these lawmakers accountable.”

“As an elected official, it is my role to ensure that individuals have access to the health care they need, when they need it. It is not my role to make personal decisions for them,” said State Representative Lisa Subeck, who represents the 78th Assembly District in Wisconsin. “Time and time again, extreme conservative politicians and elected officials here in Wisconsin and at the federal level have taken swipe after swipe at our rights. Our basic reproductive freedom is at risk – we cannot be free if we cannot make our own decisions about our bodies, our families, and our futures.”

“Two years after the Dobbs decision, we are still fighting every day. The threat is real,” said Mini Timmaraju, the President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All. “Just over an hour away from where we are right now, anti-abortion extremists are trying to take away even more of our rights. We have to keep fighting to secure our freedoms.”

“Efforts to take away our freedoms didn’t stop at ending Roe – they only intensified,” said Dr. Kathy Hartke, a board certified OBGYN and the former dormer Chair of the Wisconsin Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Dr. Hartke urged the audience to learn more about Project 2025, the conservative policy agenda that lays bare what extremists plan to do next on abortion and reproductive freedom. “Abortion is mentioned 199 times throughout Project 2025, and the blueprint aims to prevent abortion from the moment of conception. This is scary, and if you have not already, I encourage you to look it up today.” 

“While legislators and courts are rolling back reproductive rights, we know that the vast majority of Americans support access to abortion and reproductive health care,” said Reverend David Hart, a Pastor at the Sherman Avenue United Methodist Church of Madison. “Today, I am calling on each of you to fight back. We have to stand on the side of women, we have to stand on the side of justice, and we have to stand on the side of rights.”

“Right now is a moment that requires courage,” said Ali Muldrow, the Executive Director of Women’s Medical Fund Wisconsin, an organization that helps Wisconsinites access and pay for abortion care. Muldrow shared her experience accessing abortion care, and highlighted how important access to reproductive health care is for people in dangerous situations. “I am a survivor of domestic violence and I have often said that my ability to access abortion care saved my life. It allowed me to be here today as the person that I am.”

“I had consensual, protected sex. I didn’t realize the condom had broken until a month later when I was very sick,” said Dana Pellebon, the Executive Director of RCC Sexual Violence Resource Center in Dane County, who highlighted how empowering access to abortion care can be. “I had an abortion because I wanted to live my life in the way I needed to live it – and that is a choice I don’t regret.”

“Make no mistake – what extremist lawmakers are doing is not about morality, it’s about power and control,” said Reverend Tim Schaefer, a Pastor at the First Baptist Church of Madison and a member of the Wisconsin Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. “People of all faiths, and those who do not subscribe to any particular faith, must stand together against this siege on our freedoms before we lose our right to make decisions about our own health, families, and futures.”

“Just weeks ago, Republicans in the U.S. Senate voted against the Right to Contraception Act, “ said Irene Strohbeen, the Acting President of the Appleton Area chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). “The overturning of Roe and the Senate voting against expanding access to contraception are part of a slippery slope – and we don’t like where we’re see this going.”

The “Ride to Decide” tour is headed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin 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.

If you would like footage or photos from the event or 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. 

###

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.

BREAKING: Supreme Court Punts Case Threatening Lifesaving Care, Opens Door to Future Challenges

SCOTUS kicks the can down the road on abortion for the second time in a single term, leaving patients and doctors across the country confused 

WASHINGTON, DC –– Today, the Supreme Court dismissed Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States, sending the case back to the lower courts and leaving the door open for additional attacks on access to lifesaving emergency care across the country. Though the dismissal may provide temporary relief to the people of Idaho who will now be able to access lifesaving emergency abortion care, this decision is not a victory for abortion rights. The Supreme Court has sent a clear signal that abortion access remains under attack, rather than affirming the right for people to access the lifesaving care that they need. 

Following the release of the opinion, emergency medicine physicians and patient storytellers from Idaho as well as across the country released statements highlighting how the Supreme Court’s decision leaves communities across the country confused and puts lives at risk. 

"My job is to provide evidence-based, rapid emergency care for anyone and everyone who comes into an ED-- not to wade through confusing legal jargon,” said Dr. Jessica Evans-Wall, an emergency medicine physician who practices in Boise, Idaho. “Today’s decision from the Supreme Court offers little clarity for doctors like me. Instead of breathing a sigh of relief, I am worried about what’s on the horizon as legal challenges are sure to continue. I am worried that our patients will continue to not be able to access care they need where they live."

“I nearly lost my wife Anya in 2022 after she was denied an abortion here in Florida, and the experience left our entire family traumatized,” said Derick Cook, a husband and father in Florida, whose wife lost almost half of the blood in her body and was put on life support after turned away from the hospital while experiencing a miscarriage caused by preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). “Today’s decision from the Supreme Court means that what happened to Anya could happen to people across the country, and I am devastated for the families that will be affected.” 

“I nearly lost my life two years ago when I was denied emergency abortion care in Texas. Although I'm relieved that patients in Idaho will temporarily be protected by the Court's injunction, this is not enough. This ruling from the Supreme Court is another cowardly example of kicking the can on lifesaving care,” said Amanda Zurawski, a patient who spent three days in the ICU after being denied an abortion in 2022. “The fact remains that women across the country will experience what I did, and the legal back-and-forth only interferes with doctors’ ability to do their jobs, leaving patients at risk.” Zurawski sued the state of Texas, but her challenge was recently rejected by the state’s Supreme Court in a devastating blow to patients across Texas.

“Today’s decision leaves doctors and patients across the country vulnerable,” said Dr. Jessica Kroll, the President of the Idaho College of Emergency Physicians and a practicing emergency medicine physician who highlighted ongoing attacks on abortion rights and reproductive freedom leave doctors and patients confused. “The emergency room is no place for parsing through complex legal doctrine, and I feel like the Court is asking doctors like me to be lawyers, not doctors first.”

“When I experienced heavy bleeding near the end of my first trimester, I expected to receive care and information about my condition from the doctors I saw in the ER, ” said Kaitlyn Joshua of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who was turned away from two different hospitals while suffering a miscarriage. “Instead, I was sent home confused, and made to wait until I got sicker. It was a terrifying experience, and one I hoped no other women would be forced to endure. Instead of protecting access to lifesaving care, the Supreme Court opened the door for even more attacks, and patients’ lives are still at risk.”

“Today’s decision from the Supreme Court opens the door for additional attacks on access to lifesaving care, and means that doctors and patients across the country will continue to deal with legal uncertainty in the ER,” said Veronica Ingahm, Senior Campaigns Director for Free & Just. “It’s irresponsible and unfair for the Court to put women and providers in this position, especially as attacks on abortion continue to escalate.”

Protecting abortion rights and expanding access to care has never been more universally popular, uniting Americans of all race, gender, socio-economic status, geography, and political affiliation. Recent survey data found that while only 15% of people had heard a lot or some about the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, the protections guaranteed by the law are overwhelmingly popular across party lines even after a simple description. Today, the Supreme Court refused to affirm those protections, 

If you are interested in speaking with any of the storytellers quoted above, 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.

SCOTUS Leak Confirms Abortion Still Under Attack

WASHINGTON, DC –– Today, Bloomberg obtained a draft of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States, a case that could gut the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). 

Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaign Director for Free & Just released the following statement in response to the new reporting:

“The leaked opinion is a clear signal that abortion access is still under attack and threats to lifesaving medical care will continue to escalate. Women shouldn’t need a law degree to know if they can get the care they need, and the Supreme Court kicking the can on abortion twice in a single term only creates confusion for doctors and patients across the country and puts people’s lives at risk. We don’t know for certain if the opinion posted earlier today is official, but we do know that extremist lawmakers will not stop until abortion is banned nationwide.”

Earlier this month, emergency medicine physicians from Idaho, Oregon, and New York City, and patients with experience being denied care joined Free & Just to highlight how ongoing attacks on abortion rights and reproductive freedom leave doctors and patients confused and vulnerable. 

“In Idaho, we are practicing confused and afraid and it’s hurting patients,” said Dr. Jessica Kroll, the President of the Idaho College of Emergency Physicians and a practicing emergency medicine physician, who shared how Idaho’s law is already affecting patients and providers across the state. “Our job is to take care of patients, not to be moral police in the emergency room.”

If you are interested in speaking with storytellers about today’s leak, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us. 

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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.

On Two-Year Anniversary of SCOTUS Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade, New Ads Highlight Devastating Impact on Families Across the Country

Seven figure ad buy in Wisconsin and Ohio warns that extremist lawmakers will not stop until they pass a national abortion ban

WASHINGTON, DC –– Today, Free & Just is marking the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to take away nationwide abortion protections by overturning Roe v. Wade with new radio and TV ads in Wisconsin and Ohio highlighting how abortion bans and attacks on reproductive freedom are harming real people across the country. The spots, which feature storytellers impacted by attacks on abortion access, warn that extremist lawmakers remain committed to passing a national abortion ban, and will stop at nothing to take away our rights – even though it remains widely unpopular.

Over the past two years, attacks on reproductive freedom have escalated since the Supreme Court eliminated national abortion rights protections. These include recent efforts to restrict IVF access and potential bans on life-saving care for women in crisis. The vast majority of Americans support reproductive freedom and abortion access, despite the decimation of the right to access abortion by the conservative Supreme Court, including three Trump-appointed justices. Polling shows that 61% of Americans disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and a majority of Americans (8 in 10) say that the decision to have an abortion should be between a woman and their doctor.

Following the launch of the ads, patients and providers from across the country, including those featured in the new ads, released statements on the status of abortion access since the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and ongoing attacks on reproductive freedom.  

“For a long time, I paid little attention to the debate around access to abortion. I didn’t feel like it affected me personally, and it’s easy to tune out. But, my perspective on abortion changed when I had to travel out of state for abortion care,” said Megan Kling, a mom from rural Wisconsin who chose to end her pregnancy following a devastating fatal, fetal diagnosis. “I chose abortion out of love for myself, love for my family, and pure love for my baby boy. I want every woman across the country to be able to make the right decision for themselves, too.” 

“As parents, nothing could have prepared us for the shock of learning that our daughter was sent home from the hospital when she needed urgent medical care,” said Mike and Cheri Eid, whose daughter Amanda Zurawski nearly died after she was denied emergency abortion care in 2022, shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. “The past two years have been a nightmare for families like ours. For Amanda, and for every other person affected by the onerous, poorly conceived and implemented state laws that followed the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, we must stop these cruel, anything but ‘pro-life’ abortion bans.”

“Abortion care is a critical part of high-risk pregnancy care,” said Dr. Nicole Teal, a maternal fetal medicine specialist from North Carolina who relocated to San Diego, California, where she can provide the full spectrum of reproductive care for her patients. “Abortion bans put doctors like me in impossible situations and severely undermine the care we’re trained to provide our patients. My heart breaks for the communities left with limited access to care because anti-abortion lawmakers drove them out of state.”

“I was one month into my pregnancy when Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, and I knew that women like me, who were carrying very wanted pregnancies, would be affected,” said Anne Angus, a Montana woman who was forced to travel out of state for abortion care after her baby was diagnosed with Eagle-Barrett syndrome. “Losing my pregnancy was traumatic, but IVF has given me hope that my husband and I can have a healthy pregnancy as we try to grow our family. But extremist lawmakers were never going to stop at overturning Roe, and now I have to worry about whether I will even be able to continue treatment, as attacks on reproductive freedom escalate.” 

“Here in Georgia, extremists are going out of their way to threaten and attack people seeking abortion care,” Suki O, an ultrasound tech who has practiced in Georgia for over twenty years. “The last two years have been incredibly challenging, but my patients are heroes, and I am proud to care for them no matter what.”

“Abortion bans hurt all of us, no matter where we live,” said Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaigns Director for Free & Just. “Today, we await a decision in Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States, the case that could put lifesaving emergency care out of reach for women across the country. That case – and countless others – is only being heard because the Supreme Court ripped away the fundamental right to make medical decisions with their family and their doctor, and without the meddling of politicians. Now more than ever, we must amplify the voices of people whose lives were changed forever by the Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade so that we can stop further attacks on our freedoms.”

You can listen to the ad featuring Megan Kling from Wisconsin here, and watch the ads featuring the Eids here and here.

If you are interested in speaking with any of the storytellers quoted above, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us. 

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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.

BREAKING: Supreme Court Dismisses Challenge to Medication Abortion on a Technicality as Attacks on Reproductive Freedom Continue to Escalate

Decision in SCOTUS case that could restrict access to lifesaving care nationwide still pending

WASHINGTON, DC –– Today, the Supreme Court dismissed the legal challenge to the abortion medication mifepristone in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. For now, medication abortion – a safe and effective FDA approved method for ending a pregnancy up to 10-weeks – will remain available, but anti-abortion extremists are more emboldened than ever, and restrictions on access to all forms of reproductive health care, including medication abortion, will continue. 

Medication abortion accounts for over half of all abortions in the United States, and in 2023, mifepristone was used in 63 percent of all abortions. More than six in ten Americans favor keeping mifepristone available. as a prescription drug, and it’s clear why: Medication abortion gives patients the power to safely terminate their pregnancies in the comfort and privacy of their homes.

Despite its popularity, anti-abortion extremists remain committed to restricting access to medication abortion, and they will use any tool at their disposal to do it, including manipulating the Comstock Act. Originally enacted over 150 years ago, the Comstock Act is an obscure anti-obscenity law. Anti-abortion lawmakers are using the Comstock Act, a 150-year-old law, to ban medication abortion, even in states where it is protected.

Given the gravity of the Comstock Act, awareness is alarmingly low. New polling from Navigator Research and Global Strategy Group finds that two in three Americans are unaware of its existence or its potential implications, but seven in ten Americans oppose the law after learning more context, and support changing it by a nearly 40-point margin. 

In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, patients and advocates from across the country released statements highlighting what is at stake as attacks on reproductive freedom continue.

“When my birth control failed and I became pregnant for the second time, my entire life turned upside down. I went from being my family’s breadwinner and the main caretaker of my son to being so physically ill that I was not able to get off of the couch, said Anastasia Soluna from Madison, Wisconsin. “Within hours of taking abortion medication, I could sit up and hold my child again. The next day, I was playing with him and able to go back to work. While today’s Supreme Court upholds access to medication abortion, it is clear that the attacks on this critical form of reproductive health care won’t stop here. People across the country must be able to continue to access the abortion care they need.” 

“If I wasn’t able to access a medication abortion as a college student, I would have taken my own life,” said Emma Burns from Flagstaff, Arizona. “Because of Arizona’s hostile abortion landscape and unnecessary regulations, I was almost unable to receive the medication I needed. This is what anti-abortion lawmakers want for people across the country, and they will do whatever it takes to ban abortion nationwide.”

“Access to medication abortion saved my life,” said Carrie Frail, an Air Force Veteran in Missouri who credits medication abortion with allowing her to escape an abusive relationship. “Restrictions on abortion access exacerbate the effects of domestic violence and threaten women’s lives. Although the Supreme Court’s decision today does not limit access to the abortion pill at this moment, women’s lives, like mine, will continue to be on the line as attacks on abortion access and reproductive freedom continue across the country.”

“Let’s be clear – the Supreme Court dismissing this case is not a reprieve from attacks on abortion access, including medication abortion,” said Veronica Ingham, Senior Campaigns Director for Free & Just. “As we await a decision in Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States, the case that could put lifesaving emergency care out of reach for women across the country, we must remember that extremist lawmakers will not stop until abortion is banned across the country.”

Soon, the Supreme Court will issue a decision in Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States, a pending Supreme Court case that could gut the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a nearly forty year old law that guarantees that pregnant women experiencing medical emergencies can receive lifesaving care at hospitals across the country. If the Court sides with anti-abortion extremists, women across the country – even in states where abortion access is still legally protected – will be denied care when they need it most. 

If you are interested in speaking with any of the storytellers quoted above, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us.  

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