Cranford, NJ — In response to reporting about a leaked draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion by Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade, American Atheists President Nick Fish released the following statement:
“If the Supreme Court overturns Roe, half of Americans will lose the basic right to make their own reproductive choices. The right to decide when — or if — to have children is a fundamental right that is foundational to so many other rights. Its loss will have profound consequences for tens of millions of women and families in this nation.”
“Abortion access is an issue that unites our community. Among religious demographics, atheists are the single most supportive of protecting the right to choose. And from the earliest days of American Atheists, we have fought to ensure that no American is forced to adhere to religious doctrine in their healthcare choices. Regardless of what the Court does in this case, that will never change.”
“We can’t pretend that this Court’s crusade against civil rights will end with abortion. Justice Alito’s draft opinion makes it crystal clear that marriage equality and LGBTQ rights, contraception, and even racial equality are next. White Christian Nationalism is a clear and existential threat to those rights. Our community can’t afford to sit on the sidelines while extremists like Justice Alito execute their decades-long plan to use the federal judiciary to entrench their dogma into American law at the expense of civil rights for millions of Americans.”