Statement on Supreme Court Decision: Another Attack on Human Rights

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Dear students, staff, faculty, and alums,

The Supreme Court has revoked the fundamental human right to abortion, allowing states to criminalize essential reproductive health care. A bare majority of Justices, many appointed without regard for democratic norms, have abandoned almost 50 years of precedent to strip away a vital constitutional right. Overturning Roe v. Wade is both a culmination of years of anti-egalitarian political activism and the foundation for further efforts to oppress, exclude, and stigmatize people. The extreme right will not be satisfied with destroying reproductive justice; a pervasive attack on civil rights, bodily autonomy, and privacy is manifesting in various ways throughout the country, and it is not coincidental that Roe v. Wade is overruled as state legislatures pursue widespread attacks on trans youth and their families and caregivers, as well as LGBTQ educators and students.

This decision does not make abortion illegal nationwide. Many states will maintain or expand abortion access, including Massachusetts. But in at least 13 states this decision results in immediate bans of abortion, and more states are likely to severely restrict access soon. As a result, it is possible that Hampshire students may find themselves living in a state where abortion suddenly becomes illegal. Any student or employee in need of an abortion in a state where it becomes banned should contact the College so we can provide support in obtaining abortion services.

It is important to recognize that overturning Roe v. Wade most impacts individuals and communities living at the intersections of multiple systems of oppression, especially along lines of race, class, sexual orientation and gender identity, and disability. Criminalization of reproductive access increases risk and harm for individuals and communities who are already disproportionately targeted by carceral processes. Moreover, the reasoning of the opinion has implications for civil liberties and human dignity beyond reproductive justice. Fundamental freedoms to use contraception, to engage in consensual sexual relationships, to not experience employment discrimination based on gender identity, to marry a person of a different race, and to marriage equality for same-sex couples are all threatened. 

Hampshire College has long supported the work of activists and scholars advancing the intersectional human rights frameworks of the reproductive justice movement. Collective Power (formerly the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program) was launched at Hampshire College in 1981 to mobilize young people to participate in the reproductive rights movement, and has fostered generations of activists; the Five Colleges Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice Program emerged from this work. Advancing reproductive justice for all remains a core element of Hampshire’s values and identity, and it is important that we continue to raise our voice.

Ed Wingenbach
Hampshire College President

Action Resources:

Reproductive rights and care access resources:

Mental health resources:

Additional resources: Suicide Prevention Resources - Hampshire College

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