Media Contact

Candace Coleman, Communications Director, comms@aclu-ms.org

May 3, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JACKSON, Miss. - The following statement was issued by ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Jarvis Dortch in response to the reporting of a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States on Dobbs v. JWHO:

"To be clear, the draft opinion leaked to Politico is not an official decision. Abortion is a right, and Roe v Wade's decision is still the law of the land. Mississippi’s only abortion clinic is still open and actively providing service.

This leaked draft grossly tosses aside longstanding precedent protecting individuals from forced pregnancy. As we have said from the beginning, the pending decision from this case has the power to be the exact roadmap to reverse decades of progress, including the right to contraceptives, same-sex marriage, and the inherent right to privacy.

However the decision ultimately comes down, the ACLU of Mississippi will never stop fighting for the right to choose when and if to have a child."