June 24, 2022
Today, AVAC executive director Mitchell Warren issued the following statement in response to the US Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization:
“As a global organization dedicated to health as a human right, to social justice, and to individual autonomy and choice, AVAC stands today and always for reproductive justice. We condemn the 6-3 decision by the US Supreme Court, which rolls back decades of protections for those seeking safe abortion services in the US and undermines other landmark rulings that safeguard fundamental human rights, privacy and personal liberty.
The court’s ruling harms public health, full stop. We know that access to sexual and reproductive health care, privacy, and bodily autonomy underpin not only abortion rights, but also our ability to combat HIV and end this epidemic. We are HIV and global health advocates and activists, and our work is fundamentally about intersectional social justice and human rights. We stand in solidarity with the reproductive justice organizations and leaders who are at the forefront of the fight for reproductive rights and with everyone whose lives will be fundamentally altered by this decision.
This is a sad and scary day, but it is not the end. We commit to working with our partners and allies to ensure that the right to abortion, and reproductive rights overall, are protected for all.”
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About AVAC: Founded in 1995, AVAC is a non-profit organization that uses education, policy analysis, advocacy and a network of global collaborations to accelerate the ethical development and global delivery of HIV prevention options as part of a comprehensive response to the pandemic. Follow AVAC on Twitter @HIVpxresearch and find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org.