Who Are We?

The Abortion Rights Coalition grew out of a project initially started by the Philadelphia Democratic Socialists of America, and while many DSA members are still involved it has become its own independent organizing project. The coalition now includes

The group formed in 2020 after the Supreme Court decision of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Center court case overturned nearly 50 years of precedent, opening the way for abortion access to be blocked on a state-by-state basis. Luckily, abortion access has been relatively protected in the state of Pennsylvania, and there are many abortion clinics in Philadelphia. However, we quickly realized that reproductive rights and access to abortion care are not truly protected anywhere unless they are protected everywhere.

While we continue to strategize around taking this struggle back onto the national stage, we also are organizing to expand access where it is still legal--because although Roe v. Wade was an important milestone in gender equality, it did not mean that abortion access was possible for everyone. Maternal care deserts, the Hyde Amendment, financial and social barriers have always meant that accessing care has continued to be impossible for too many people. Furthermore, we came to recognize that the decision to have or not have children is not truly a "choice" for so many people who also have to fight for basic resources, who live with abusive relationships, who carry a history of forced sterilization or sexual assault with them, or who do not feel it's possible to create the family they really want.

We believe that abortion is just one of the human rights in the reproductive justice framework which encompasses the right to have children, the right to not have children, and the right to nurture children in a safe and healthy environment.