*This statement was crafted by Faith in Action national staff and may not reflect the sentiments of all Faith in Action federations.*

For Immediate Release: July 1, 2022
Contact: Heather Cabral, 202-550-6880, hcabral@faithinaction.org

Largest faith-based organizing network laments Dobbs ruling and other SCOTUS decisions that disproportionately put Black and Brown families at risk

Washington – With the end of the Supreme Court term, the Rev. Alvin Herring, executive director of Faith in Action, in a statement reflected on the disturbing pattern of the Court to issue decisions, including the Dobbs decision, that place Black and Brown families across the country at risk:

At Faith in Action, we are grateful to be a multi-faith network, and we know that as a multi-faith organization, we work in partnership with people who have divergent views on theological and social issues that impact the lives of all of us. We do our best to honor and respect people who might feel differently on sensitive and complex issues, and we believe deeply in a society in which each and every person has the opportunity and support they need to flourish in their families and communities. 

We aren’t taking a position on abortion now and never have. The Dobbs decision overturning 50 years of precedent will have profound and far-reaching implications for the health and wellbeing of people across the country, regardless of one’s stance on abortion. Absent urgent action by state legislatures and Congress to provide increased resources for maternal health, along with new measures to reduce poverty and provide new resources to support children and families, we know that the greatest impact will be felt by Black and Brown women and their children. And that is a reality that we feel called to denounce and address through faith-rooted organizing. As we have always done, we must listen with compassion to Black and Brown women and children who will bear the burden of this and any policy or practice that may have a chilling effect on their ability to thrive. 

In this session, the Supreme Court handed down several important decisions that will have a lasting impact on the lives of people of color and poor and working people in this country. But God is asking this network to hold together tightly and be an instrument for those most maligned and closest to the pain of oppression, poverty, and despair. Our critique and concern of the Dobbs decision are based solely on the health and wellbeing of Black and Brown women and their children. Our goal as an organization is to ensure Black and Brown women have adequate access to healthcare, do not feel abandoned and targeted by lawmakers, and are heard. Our concern and support are for Black women who are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than their white counterparts and for Black babies who have the highest infant mortality rate in the nation and the least access to prenatal and pediatric care. Our concern is for undocumented Latina survivors of gender-based violence for which the impact cannot even be measured.

The Court has abandoned its care and compassion for Black and Brown families in its decisions to uphold a congressional map in Louisiana that dilutes the voice of Black and Brown voters, to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to curb climate change, to curtail Miranda rights and to open the door to de facto government-sponsorship of particular religious beliefs. These are all decisions that will disproportionately harm Black and Brown families.

The care and wellbeing of Black and Brown women and children is neither a right or left issue. No party has adequately met the needs of Black and Brown women and children. We want to use our voice to challenge people of all faith traditions and political persuasions to stand with us in support of the health and wellbeing of women and children.  

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