Statement on the Dobbs Decision

Agnes Scott College Statement in Response to the June 24, 2022, U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

In light of the Supreme Court's June 24 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, eliminating what many deemed a constitutional right for nearly fifty years: the right to legal abortion, Agnes Scott is compelled to share its position.

As a college founded to serve women, the campus community is deeply concerned about the effect this ruling will have on women's lives, our students' lives, and the lives of all people who will be denied or will have reduced access to reproductive health care and whose health and safety may be at risk as a result of this ruling. As an educational institution dedicated to the free exchange of ideas, Agnes Scott will continue to stand firm on our commitment to respect individual differences in beliefs and values, even as our mission insists that we prioritize protecting our students. We believe strongly that the equal rights to life, health and safety of our students, our faculty and staff, our alumnae/alumni and all individuals should not be limited to or contingent upon status, citizenship, race or any other intersecting identities that our students hold. 

The Agnes Scott community is unwavering in our commitment to think critically, live honorably, and to engage the social and intellectual challenges of our time. We recognize this ruling, and the subsequent restrictions of healthcare access, as a challenge to the health, safety, and professional and economic mobility of women, especially women from under-represented and under-enfranchised communities. We will use our knowledge, our tools, and our influence in the service of restoring full access to reproductive care.