State Senator Natalie Murdock and North Carolina Patient Advocates Spotlight How Abortion Bans Harm Black Families

RALEIGH, NC –– Today, State Senator Natalie Murdock, patient storytellers, and advocates joined Free & Just to spotlight how abortion bans disproportionately harm Black communities. Abortion bans block access to timely, comprehensive, and inclusive medical care during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum — deepening an already deadly maternal health crisis and existing disparities for Black women and patients.

“Politicians make crappy physicians, and we warned my colleagues in the General Assembly that women would die as a result of this ban,” said State Senator Natalie Murdock, who honored Greensboro Police Officer Ciji Graham, 34, who died after being denied standard medical care under North Carolina’s abortion ban. “We know that there will be more deaths as long as we interfere in the jobs of physicians for the sake of controlling women’s bodies. Now more than ever, we have to bear witness and tell these stories so that one day, North Carolina will get it right and provide everyone with the reproductive care they deserve.”

“Let me be clear: abortion bans put in place by anti-abortion politicians and judges are efforts to control our bodies and our lives, take away our freedom, and force their will on the rest of us,” said Gabby Long, who works as a Community Outreach & Patient Advocate with A Woman’s Choice in Raleigh. “Black women are more likely to live in states where abortion is banned or under threat, like here in the South. We must stand with independent clinics across this country that are doing the majority of this work quietly, courageously, and without recognition. Because when we strengthen clinics, we strengthen communities, especially our most vulnerable.”

“The people who hold political power in this country are moving us in the wrong direction. Across the country and here in the South, access to sexual and reproductive health care is increasingly under attack. Black communities continue to face disproportionate barriers to care, rising Black maternal mortality rates, and a growing hostile environment that threatens our bodily autonomy, safety, and futures,” said Khamaria Long, a Youth Community Organizer with Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.”Health care is an essential service. But rather than working to increase access to affordable health care and invest in public health infrastructure, the leaders of our federal government and the North Carolina General Assembly continue to prioritize corporate interests and tax cuts for the wealthiest among us.”

“Abortion bans do not improve maternal health outcome – in many cases they make accessing prenatal care even more complicated,” said Maya Jackson, Founder and Executive Director of MAAME, Inc., a local organization offering community-rooted care by training birth workers and working to expand access to high-quality maternal care. “When care is delayed, restricted, or dismissed, health outcomes suffer. Black families feel these impacts first. When care is politicized, every woman faces challenges.”

At least five Black women including Amber Thurman, Candi Miller, Tierra Walker, Porsha Ngumezi, and Ciji Graham, a law enforcement officer from North Carolina, died after being denied access to timely abortion care as a result of anti-abortion attacks that exacerbate existing hurdles facing Black women seeking reproductive health care.

You can watch the event here. If you are interested in speaking with any of the participants in the press event, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us. 

Free & Just is committed to fighting for reproductive freedom. Join us in sharing stories, raising voices, and securing our future. 

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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.