Connecticut Health Foundation President and CEO Tiffany Donelson released the following statement on today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on abortion:
As an organization dedicated to assuring that everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible, we are deeply concerned about the implications of today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on abortion, particularly for people of color.
It is critical that decisions about reproductive health and pregnancy be made by those who are directly affected and their chosen health care advisors, and that all people have access to the full spectrum of health care choices. Today’s ruling is likely to impose particularly harsh burdens on those who already face the biggest challenges to accessing needed health care.
People of color have historically experienced disproportionately poor health outcomes and poor treatment in the health care system, and today’s ruling will likely have an outsized effect on people of color who will find their health care choices further constrained. Already, women of color have worse outcomes in maternal health, regardless of socioeconomic status. In Connecticut, Black women are 2.6 times as likely as white women to die within six weeks of childbirth, according to the state Department of Public Health. Changes that make it more difficult for people of color to make decisions about their reproductive health only stand to worsen inequities.
We are fortunate that Connecticut has taken steps to preserve the right to abortion in the state. It will be critical to monitor access in the coming years. As an organization, we will continue to do everything we can to assure that everyone has access to equitable health care.
Related: Patricia Baker, CT Health’s founding president and CEO, reflected on her experiences of growing up before Roe v. Wade, her work leading Planned Parenthood of Connecticut, and the health equity implications of today’s ruling. >>Read the blog post