Lawyers of color should work to defend access to safe and legal abortions, Connecticut Comptroller Natalie Braswell urged at the 10th anniversary of the Attorneys of Color Symposium organized by Quinnipiac University Law School.
No matter their social status, women of color face poorer outcomes than white women in nearly all aspects of reproductive health care — from maternal mortality rates to endometrial and cervical cancer, she said.
“Additionally, women of color, particularly Black women, frequently have negative experiences in the healthcare system for a variety of reasons, including institutionalized racism,” Braswell said.
That's why lawyers of color should defend access to safe and legal abortions, she said.
“If we cede ground on this, it would embolden those who want to govern this country against the majority will of the citizens," she said. "The same arguments used to deny abortion access can extend further into the lives of American families. It’s not hyperbole to think from in-vitro fertilization to same sex marriage and interracial marriage is now in jeopardy."
Braswell said the U.S. Supreme Court made a cynical decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“A country that truly values life, family and security would help its residents by providing a living wage, family planning and a compassionate foster care system. That this decision came at a time when parents can’t literally find formula to feed their infants illustrates how absurd the moniker has become.”
Connecticut codified Roe in 1990 into state law and enhanced those protections this year.
The symposium was organized by Quinnipiac University Law School and the Connecticut Bar Foundation. The Connecticut Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the South Asian Bar Association of Connecticut were co-sponsors.
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