New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today issued the following statement about the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade:

“Thirty-five years ago today, the United States Supreme Court struck down a misguided Texas statute making it a crime to perform an abortion unless a woman’s life was in danger. The case, named for an anonymous unmarried plaintiff who sought to terminate her pregnancy, has in the succeeding decades served an essential role in providing the women of this nation with a fundamental right to reproductive choice.

This is of particular importance in New York State, which has failed to secure the right to emergency contraception despite our having the highest per capita abortion rate in the nation. The State Comptroller’s office conducted a study in 2003 indicating that expanded access to the so-called “morning after” pill could reduce abortions in New York State by some 82,000, while providing State and local governments a combined $133 million in Medicaid savings.

If we are to prevent unwanted pregnancies in our state, we have a responsibility to make contraceptive options like the morning after pill accessible and affordable for all women. As we remember Roe v. Wade on this day, we also pause to remember the thousands of women who were maimed or who died in the pursuit of an illegal abortion and join with the millions of American women and men who firmly believe that we must never return to those dark days.

As the current Supreme Court appears poised to reconsider this most basic right we must recommit ourselves to keeping abortion safe and legal for women of all income levels, and to say clearly and unequivocally that it is a woman’s right to make this most personal and difficult decision.

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