Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON – An alarming rise in “personhood” laws – including a new focus on beyond-the-pale criminal prosecution of pregnant women- is opening up a dangerous new front in the far-right’s attack on reproductive rights.  As an editorial series in the New York Times described:

“These criminal statutes are results of a tried-and-true playbook, part of a strategic campaign to establish fetal rights, reverse Roe v. Wade and recriminalize abortion. The sequence begins with anti-abortion groups seizing upon a tragic case in which a woman loses her pregnancy because of someone else’s actions. Public outcry then helps to strengthen a state feticide law that recognizes such lost pregnancies as murder or manslaughter. It’s a backdoor way of legally defining when life begins.”

Some activists behind fetal protection laws see them as a vehicle for overturning Roe v. Wade.  With Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, rulings that strike down Roe and prop up “personhood” laws could be just around the corner.

It is beyond irony that Donald Trump and his allies in the states fiercely oppose an Equal Rights Amendment for women, and now want to shred our Constitution to grant personhood status to the fetus.

The National Organization for Women has always been on the front lines of defending women’s rights, including abortion rights, and in empowering women to protect themselves from institutions and powerful elites that seek to oppress and discriminate against us. NOW will continue to oppose laws and policies that elevate a constitutionally indefensible notion of fetal personhood and threaten the health and dignity of women.

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NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has revoked the “Rethink Discipline” guidelines, issued during the Obama administration, which reminded schools of their responsibility to address racial discrimination in school discipline.  Without these guardrails, schools can continue to funnel minority students into the “school to prison pipeline,” which removes students from public schools and places them in the criminal justice system, often for minor infractions or contrived offenses pertaining to their “attitude,” their clothes, hairstyle, or the trauma they’ve experienced.

This is the latest example of how Betsy DeVos—and Donald Trump—want to retool the federal government into an instrument of shredding civil rights, rather than protecting them.  The effect will be to further marginalize the already marginalized and criminalize the too-often criminalized students of color.

Students of color are more likely to have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect.  They need caring and culturally competent teachers, a safe learning environment and comprehensive counseling and mental health services. Instead, under Betsy DeVos’ cruel plan, they will be further isolated, punished, and denied the opportunity to continue their education.

NOW calls on Secretary DeVos to cancel her unwarranted, unjustified and racially discriminatory guidance and stop using minority students as political pawns in Donald Trump’s politics of division.  Our public schools are the backbone of our civil society and students should feel safe, respected, and valued as they strive to learn.

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NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON – The National Organization for Women (NOW) was proud to be a sponsor of the historic Women’s March that took place following Donald Trump’s inauguration, and of the subsequent March last year.  

NOW has a long history of support for grassroots actions and street protest. NOW brought 750,000 abortion rights supporters to Washington in 1992 for the first March for Women’s Lives, and we worked with other partners to organize an even larger protest in 2004 when a record 1.5 million people gathered for what was then the largest protest in U.S. history.

The Women’s March was created to be a beacon of inclusion amid an administration intent on division. NOW will continue to support the Women’s March Unity Principles, and we will participate and organize members to attend the March. However, we will withhold direct financial support until the current questions regarding leadership are resolved.

Contact

NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669