The first Junior League was founded in 1901 as a volunteer organization whose focus was to improve the lives of people in the local community. Founded with that same mission, the Junior League of Sacramento (JLS) has served our region for 80 years. As a women’s organization, JLS would be remiss not to acknowledge the recent, historic decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, removing federal protection of the right to abortion. We respect our members’ rights to personal beliefs and to differing opinions. To continue the conversation on this topic, we asked our membership for their feedback, and as a result, we issue the following statement:

The Junior League of Sacramento’s mission is to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training. All women should have the ability to make their own decisions concerning their health and futures. We mourn the impact this ruling will have on many families, especially people of color, low-income, and other marginalized groups, who have disproportionately lacked access to healthcare. We stand with women across the country and will continue to support our members as they advocate at the state and local levels to protect women’s rights to bodily autonomy and healthcare.