In 2022, after 49 years, Roe v. Wade was overturned. The state of reproductive health care in the U.S. has changed critically and fundamentally in a few short years. Abortion is now banned or restricted in 19 states, and is inaccessible in most of the other 31; access to contraceptives is increasingly challenged. Choice Matters, the oldest ongoing pro-choice organization in the nation, has been educating, motivating, and activating individuals for over 53 years. Catherine Lederer-Plaskett, its president and chair, will describe the current national and local landscape with regards to abortion access and explain the work of Choice Matters in New York State and Westchester County.

About the Presenter: Catherine Lederer-Plaskett is an internationally-recognized advocate for women’s reproductive rights. As its President and Chair for two decades, Catherine has revitalized the growth of WCLA – Choice Matters, the oldest ongoing pro-choice advocacy organization in the country. Catherine is also a founding member and former co-chair of the New York State Alliance for Women’s Health which helped draft the Reproductive Health Act that became law in 2019. She was instrumental in the drafting and passage of Westchester’s 2022 Safe Clinic Access legislation – which remains the only one of its kind nationally that protects both the inside and outside of reproductive healthcare facilities. In 2024, Catherine played a pivotal role in the passage of NYS Constitutional Amendment “Prop One”.