(Washington, D.C.) Stop Prosecuting Abortion, a new national campaign by Reproaction, seeks an end to criminalization of abortion. At a news event earlier today, Reproaction and spokespeople from allied reproductive rights and justice organizations discussed the real-life consequences of punishing women for pregnancy outcomes, and screened the first of a series of upcoming videos in which abortion opponents share a range of alarming views about punishing people who have abortions.

“We asked abortion opponents simple, important questions: Should women be prosecuted for having abortions? Their responses were chilling,” said Reproaction Co-Founder and Co-Director Erin Matson, “and in stark contrast to hollow claims by anti-abortion leaders that they love and care for women. As we mark the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, complete with people who call themselves pro-life cheering along to an address from Donald Trump broadcast live on the National Mall, it’s time to hold abortion opponents accountable for their callous support of jailing abortion providers and patients. We must stop prosecuting abortion.”

Although abortion remains technically legal in the United States, a host of state and federal restrictions make it inaccessible for many people. Since January 2011, lawmakers have passed more than 400 measures that make abortion unaffordable, close clinics, and restrict the use of

abortion pills. These restrictions affect people of all backgrounds, yet fall hardest on those likely to face financial and logistical barriers to care, such as low-income people, women of color, rural communities and others.

“The logical consequence of abortion bans is sending people to jail – and it’s already happening,” said Reproaction Co-Founder and Co-Director Pamela Merritt. “In Indiana, Virginia, Georgia and elsewhere, women have been charged or prosecuted for their pregnancy outcomes. With the shifting balance of power on the Supreme Court, it is especially urgent that we tell anti-abortion politicians to put down the handcuffs and stop putting women in jail.”

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Reproaction works to uphold abortion rights and advance reproductive justice as a matter of human dignity. Since its founding in 2015, the organization has introduced a new culture of accountability, taking bold action to empower and inspire the reproductive rights movement and the broader progressive community to openly and enthusiastically stand up for abortion rights.