NCSD Fears Draft Ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Has Grave Implications for the Nation’s Sexual Health and STD Services

Long-term impacts will jeopardize the health and well-being of every person in the U.S. 

For Immediate Release: May 6, 2022  
Contact: Elizabeth Finley, efinley@ncsddc.org, 919-749-7309 

Washington, D.C. — The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) is troubled by the long-term implications of the leaked Supreme Court draft majority opinion for reproductive healthcare in our communities and for the fundamental right to privacy in our nation.  

Privacy and access are the bedrocks for all sexual and reproductive health services, and a threat to our long-held protections jeopardizes the health and well-being of every person in the United States. The nation’s STD rates will continue to climb as our healthcare infrastructure crumbles and our rights erode. 

The privacy and integrity of our healthcare system is essential to both reproductive health access and to ending the epidemic of STDs in the United States. NCSD stands in solidarity with reproductive health providers and fears what will become of our communities if those providers shutter or can no longer provide the care patients need.  

NCSD also fears the future fallout of this opinion, widely described by legal analysts to threaten both long-held rights like contraceptive access and newer, hard-earned rights like sexual privacy and marriage equality. Sexual and reproductive health services can only be effective when a healthcare provider and patient can speak openly about their sexual health needs, habits, and history. Stigma-inducing cultural attacks and criminalization will end these vital conversations.  

In addition, NCSD believes the opinion would exacerbate the health equity gaps that exist based on place, class, and race. Health outcomes are already compromised in many of the states most likely to see immediate changes to reproductive rights, including higher STD rates, and women of color in these states stand to experience the most harm from diminishing trust and healthcare criminalization.  

Sexual and reproductive healthcare must be available and accessible to people within their own communities, and people must be able to trust their providers with full information about their health and needs. In undermining healthcare access, trust, and privacy, the Supreme Court is putting the nation’s health at risk.  

NCSD asks the broader community of STD providers and programs to stand in solidarity with and heed the calls to action from their counterparts working on reproductive health, rights, and justice to the fullest extent they can.