Statement from AG Jennings on Dobbs ruling

Attorney General Kathy Jennings released the following statement today regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization:

“Just one day after dramatically curtailing states’ rights to regulate guns, the Supreme Court has upended a half-century of legal precedent by permitting states to regulate women’s most basic freedom — control over our own bodies. It is a sad statement about this Court’s priorities, which are so far out of step with the American people and explain the public’s cratering confidence in its highest court. While Delaware has robust statutory protections in place for abortion — and I am more grateful by the day that our legislators and advocates had the foresight to install those safeguards — the truth is that this ruling is a terrifying prospect for millions of people in other states.

Make no mistake; the stakes now are not simple matters of opinion. It is a matter of fact that the draconian abortion policies this right-wing ruling has enabled will be harmful, even deadly, to women who either cannot receive lifesaving care or seek an abortion outside of a medical environment. It is a matter of fact that some of these laws enable criminal prosecution of doctors who provide life-saving medical care. And it is a matter of fact that these laws will disproportionately harm the working poor and people who already have children and may face economic destitution as a result of this ruling.

Those of us who’ve spent our lives fighting to preserve this central right have not been alarmist. And we can be sure that other rights that we’ve taken for granted, including contraception and marriage equality may be next.

Our priority now must be ensuring that people who need abortions have the resources to get them; ensuring public officials in our state continue to protect choice; and continuing to fight against efforts in Delaware and nationwide to curtail reproductive rights.”