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Videotaped Remarks Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade Decision

January 22, 1998

On January 22d, we mark the 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that affirmed every woman's right to choose whether and when to have a child, and in doing so, affirmed two of our Nation's most deeply-held values, personal privacy and family responsibility.

Over the past 25 years, Roe v. Wade has had a major positive impact on the health and well-being of American women and their families. Safe, legal abortion has all but eliminated the dangerous, clandestine conditions that claimed too many women's lives when the procedure was illegal.

I'm committed to keeping abortion safe, legal, and accessible—and to making it more rare. Over the last 5 years, we've led the way on policies to prevent unintended pregnancy by making comprehensive family planning and sex education programs more widely available. We've increased support for Title X family planning services every year in our budget. And I'll do so again this year.

I've fought to continue funding for international family planning, bringing much needed health care to women all around the world. Here at home, by working together with health care professionals, community groups, schools, and family planning agencies, we've made real progress in reducing teen pregnancy. And I was proud to sign legislation to protect the rights Roe established by protecting women's clinics from violence. We have enforced that law to its full extent.

I will continue to do everything I can to make sure that every child in America is a wanted child, raised in a loving, strong family. Ultimately, that idea is what the anniversary of Roe v. Wade celebrates.

Hillary and I join with all of you in commemorating this milestone and pledge ourselves anew to protecting the right to choose.

Thank you, and God bless you.

NOTE: These remarks were videotaped at approximately 4:30 p.m. on January 6 in the Cabinet Room at the White House.

William J. Clinton, Videotaped Remarks Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade Decision Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/226502

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