GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@greens.org
Greens vow to defend full reproductive rights for women after the South Dakota anti-abortion bill is signed
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the wake of news that South Dakota has outlawed most abortions, Green leaders pledged party
support for efforts to stop Roe v. Wade from being overturned.
"This is a widely anticipated major step in the radical Republican agenda to repeal women's rights," said Nan Garrett, co-chair of the Georgia Green Party and spokesperson for the National Women's Caucus <http://greens.org/gp-uswomen/>
"The Green Party and its candidates support full reproductive rights for women. If these rights are repealed or limited by a Supreme Court decision upholding the South Dakota law, we will hold accountable all those Senators who either supported or refused to filibuster the confirmation of Judge Roberts and Judge
Alito."
On Monday, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed the bill, which was passed by the state legislature in February after supporters argued that the recent appointment of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito made the Supreme Court more likely to overturn reproductive rights. The bill outlaws all abortions, including those performed in cases of rape or incest, except when necessary to save a mother's life.
Greens called the South Dakota strategy part of a larger effort by extremist Republicans to abolish freedom and equality for women, cancel privacy rights, and create law based on sectarian religious precepts.
For the Green Party, the right of women to control their own bodies is nonnegotiable, and Greens call it essential for every woman to have the right to safe, legal abortion on demand <http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/socjustice.html#998980>.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned and reproductive rights can no longer be guaranteed at the federal level, we will fight to keep abortion legal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia," said Cara Jennings, Green Party member and candidate for City Commission (District 2) in Lake Worth, Florida, in a March 14 election. "The Green Party is on the side of the majority of Americans, who don't believe that the clock can be turned back 40 years."
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
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Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
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