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Suzanne Morse
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Boston, Mass. (June 13, 2024) – The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is applauding theU.S. Supreme Court’s decision (PDF) in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine case that will protect the rights of pregnant people in this country.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to reverse decades of reproductive rights in June 2022 has been disastrous for women and pregnant people across the country,” said Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, the UUA’s president. “The Court’s decision today, which ruled that the plaintiffs in the case lacked legal standing, is an important affirmation of bodily autonomy that centers the health of pregnant people and will help to protect medical providers who are doing their jobs.”

The Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine case examined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, a pharmaceutical utilized for medication abortions. The FDA approved its use for this purpose in 2000. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine challenged the safety of the drug, even though a “thorough and comprehensive review of the scientific evidence presented and determined that it was safe and effective for its indicated use,” according to the FDA.

Throughout history, Unitarian Universalists (UU) have affirmed access to abortion for women and pregnant people. In 1973, UUs supported the Roe v Wade decision through a General Resolution. In 2015, through a Statement of Conscience, UUs committed to Reproductive Justice, which affirms the human right to have children, not to have children, to parent the children one has in healthy environments, to safeguard bodily autonomy, and to express one’s sexuality freely. Most recently, in 2022, UUs condemned the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse five decades of precedent in the Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women Health Organization case, which overturned Roe v. Wade.

“Unitarian Universalists advocate for Reproductive Justice because they recognize that decisions that curtail rights have a disproportionate impact on people of color, young people, poor and working-class people, and those living in rural areas,” said Rev. Dr. Betancourt. “UUs have been working to protect reproductive care and promote Reproductive Justice for years, and will continue to do so.”

For more information on the UUA’s work supporting Reproductive Justice, please visit Side With Love.

About the UUA

The UUA is the central organization for the Unitarian Universalist (UU) religious movement in the United States. Our faith isdiverse and inclusive and the UUA’s 1000+ member congregations are committed to principles and values that hold closely the worth and dignity of each person as sacred, the need for justice and compassion, the right of conscience, and respect for the interdependent nature of all existence.