“We have no right to control a woman’s health,” U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-9th) said Monday at a rally for reproductive freedoms. “Thirteen states in the union have completely eliminated access to women’s choice, and more than a dozen have enacted onerous restrictions to women’s freedom, endangering the health and safety of tens of millions of women,” he said.
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey and other reproductive rights advocates took part in the rally. Participants said that since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade last summer, the need to protect reproductive rights continues to grow as Republican Party members attempt to restrict them.
Larisa Mendez Downes, director of public affairs and advocacy for Planned Parenthood Metropolitan New Jersey, said those who suffer the most from the restrictions are poor and minority communities where access to quality health care is already challenging.
