For Immediate Release

Contact:
Sarah Henry, shenry@americanhumanist.org, (202) 238-9088

(Washington, D.C., October 4, 2019) – Leaders at the American Humanist Association were disappointed to learn that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the challenge to abortion access in Louisiana, as announced this morning.

“This is just one manifestation of the extremism present in the federal judiciary,” explained Sunil Panikkath, President of the American Humanist Association. Panikkath continued, “The rise of Christian nationalism isn’t limited to our judicial branch, and the effort to use religion to limit reproductive freedom is merely one expression of this dangerous political ideology.”

American Humanist Association Deputy Director Jennifer Bardi agreed, noting that, “The argument that life begins at conception is an explicitly religious one. Warping our secular laws with religious dogma doesn’t just risk our reproductive freedoms—it threatens the LGBTQ community, religious and nonreligious minorities, and true religious freedom for all.”

The Appignani Humanist Legal Center, a branch of the American Humanist Association, is considering future action on this issue. The American Humanist Association has and will continue to support and fight for evidence-based reproductive healthcare for all.

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The American Humanist Association (AHA) works to protect the rights of humanists, atheists, and other nontheistic Americans. The AHA advances the ethical and life-affirming worldview of humanism, which—without beliefs in gods or other supernatural forces—encourages individuals to live informed and meaningful lives that aspire to the greater good of humanity.