Black US leaders slam Roe v. Wade ruling, warning that Black women will be 'disproportionately impacted' by the decision

• The NAACP and CBC responded to SCOTUS ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.
• They highlighted how Black women will be "disproportionately impacted" by the decision.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) slammed the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion across the country.

In a statement on Friday, the NAACP General Counsel Janette McCarthy Wallace said that Black women will be "disproportionately impacted" by the ruling, calling it an "egregious assault on basic human rights."

"We must all stand up to have our voices heard in order to protect our nation from the further degradation of civil rights protections we have worked so hard to secure," McCarthy said.

Advocates and experts have warned that women of color will suffer the most from the reversal of Roe v. Wade as they are more likely to have unintended pregnancies, less access to reproductive services, and more likely to suffer a pregnancy-related death compared to their counterparts.

The CBC echoed similar concerns as Chairwoman Joyce Beatty said that the decision is "unacceptable" and "pro-policing of women's bodies."

"The extreme right-wing Supreme Court majority's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the law of the land for 49 years that gave a woman the right to choose, will have far-reaching and painful consequences," Beatty said in a statement. "Moreover, in the midst of a Black maternal mortality crisis, restricting access to abortion care will disproportionately endanger the lives of Black Americans."

On Thursday, a day prior to SCOTUS overturning the ruling, members of the CBC — including Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Cori Bush — penned a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to declare a "public health and national emergency" in response to the ruling.

"We urge you to use any and all executive authorities to address the public health crisis our nation will face if Roe v. Wade is dismantled. Declaring a public health emergency and national emergency will allow your Administration to utilize additional flexibilities and deploy resources where necessary," the letter said. "In this unprecedented moment, we must act urgently as if lives depend on it because they do."