Abortion Rights
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The Dobbs ruling has turned issues of abortion rights and reproductive freedoms on their heads for all people, especially for those who become pregnant. And although California is in a unique position with our reproductive freedoms and ability to make choices about the protection of our own bodies, the national repeal of abortion rights has and will continue to have immediate, long term and unanticipated impacts directly on California, and especially in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area.
As the country’s oldest local department dedicated to women and gender equity with subject matter expertise on the policy, programmatic and political conditions surrounding reproductive freedom and access, the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women is proud to serve as the coordinating agency for the City’s collective response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
DOSW was tapped to lead the San Francisco Bay Area Abortion Rights Coalition (BAARC), an initiative that has been recognized by the White House Gender Policy Council and is the first ever regional collective of municipal governments and reproductive health and justice stakeholders.
These challenging times, while heartbreaking and demoralizing, afford the San Francisco Bay Area an opportunity to reinforce collectively our regional response, reimagine our reproductive healthcare system and reframe the narrative to win the argument once and for all. Equal parts bold and audacious, the BAARC initiative requires an extraordinary level of coordination and collaboration, and DOSW has been proud to serve as the community convener to organize stakeholders for our communities’ futures.
