Roe v. Wade Overturned -- Rhode Island Reacts
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Roe v. Wade Overturned -- Rhode Island Reacts
The move comes after POLITICO was first to report that the Supreme Court had already voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and obtained by the news site.
"The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives," Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the 6-3 ruling.
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Rhode Island Reacts -- and More
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha issued the following statement in reaction to the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade and its progeny:
"For nearly half a century following the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, a woman’s right to choose whether to end her pregnancy has been an established, fundamental right. Indeed, that fundamental right has been so firmly established over the lives of multiple generations of Americans that until recently, the notion of the Supreme Court going backwards in time and eliminating it has been unthinkable. And yet that is precisely what the Supreme Court has done today, in a decision that endangers women’s health and turns the Court’s own long-standing principles recognizing the critical importance of adhering to legal precedent on their head.
Abortion is healthcare, and today's decision upending almost 50 years of precedent threatens essential healthcare access in states across the country where abortion is restricted under state law.
I want to reassure Rhode Islanders that the right to an abortion remains protected here in Rhode Island. In 2019, Rhode Island codified Roe v. Wade and its progeny under our state's Reproductive Privacy Act, ensuring that Rhode Island will not return to the days of illegal and unsafe abortions that endanger lives and create criminal liability for physicians.
My Office has successfully defended our Reproductive Privacy Act from a legal challenge before and we stand ready to defend it in the future."
In response to the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, Working Families Party New England Regional Director Georgia Hollister Isman said:
"By hijacking the Supreme Court, Republicans have achieved their long-sought goal of stripping people seeking abortions of the right to plan families and control their own bodies.
Without access to abortion there is no such thing as equality for women. Abortion is an economic justice issue as much as anything. People with wealth and connections will, as they always have, be able to access the care they need safely, while poor and working class people who need abortion care will be forced into pregnancies. There is no just society that doesn’t make abortion legal, safe, and accessible for all.
This decision is another reminder: Elections matter. Abortion will remain legal is Rhode Island because the many new lawmakers we’ve elected value women’s equality and everyones bodily autonomy, and they codified Roe in state law in 2019. But for many people who need them, abortions are effectively still banned in Rhode Island – because the state does not cover them under Medicaid or the state employee health plan – putting them economically out of reach.
With our democracy under attack at the national level, Rhode Island state leaders and our elected leaders in Washington need to step up now to protect abortion for anyone who needs one."
Rhode Island General Treasurer -- and Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives -- Seth Magaziner issued the following statement.
“Today's Supreme Court ruling is a devastating step backward for women and underscores how high the stakes are for this election,” said General Treasurer and congressional candidate Seth Magaziner. “In Congress, I will fight to codify the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law so that women across the country can make their own healthcare decisions.”
Magaziner noted that Republican Allan Fung, who is running in the GOP primary for the Congressional seat, opposed the Reproductive Privacy Act that codified Roe v. Wade into Rhode Island law and has previously been endorsed by the RI Right to Life, a group that seeks to make abortion illegal.
Democratic Congressional candidate Sarah Morgenthau released this statement.
“For nearly 50 years, Roe v Wade has been the law of the land. There are no words that can fully describe the harm this decision will do to the rights and safety of women across this country. This right-wing Court’s blatant disregard for women’s bodily autonomy is the result of a longstanding, deliberate effort by the Republican Party to politicize and undermine the independence of the institution.
It is inexcusable that in our state we have never elected a Democratic woman to Congress, and I reject outright the suggestion that the solution in November is to return a slate of solely men to represent us in Washington. Today, and the days to come, will be immensely challenging for women across the country. I stand with them, and know we must be vocal in our demand for change. We need federal legislation to protect women’s right to choose, and now more than ever we need a pro-choice woman representing Rhode Island in Congress to fight for it.”
Democratic Congressional candidate David Segal said the following.
"Today, our worst fears have been confirmed. The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, the bedrock of reproductive freedom in our country for nearly five decades.
This ruling will have devastating consequences. In many states across the country, abortion is now effectively illegal, or soon will be — meaning people will be forced to violate state laws to access reproductive care. The reproductive rights that are maintained in many other states are now dependent on the composition of state legislatures — and could still fall at the whim of Congress or the courts.
We must act urgently: We need to codify Roe v. Wade at the national level. We must help those organizing in other states to pass similar laws and protections. We must identify ways to help those seeking care in states where it is being denied to them. And we need to ensure that Rhode Island’s laws fully protect reproductive freedom — including by expanding coverage to state workers and people who use Medicaid.
This decision is a shameful moment in our history, and one that is indicative of fundamental failings of our governance system, including the courts. I stand with the majority of Americans who support access to legal, safe abortions and who oppose Roe being overturned. Yet an anti-choice minority has taken power through the Supreme Court to enforce a radical, far-right agenda and sweep away an essential right. Government must ensure our basic rights and freedoms, not trample upon them.
Just a few years ago, as Rhode Island pushed to codify Roe, many said that the impulse to do so was alarmist — that Roe would never be overturned. I’m proud to have stood with those who understood that reproductive rights must be enshrined in law — and to have cosponsored legislation to codify Roe and expand reproductive rights, and to have helped guard against new restrictions, during my time in the legislature. But the work that we have done here in Rhode Island is incomplete — and does not change the fact that in other states the situation is dire, and that even our protections are vulnerable to future attacks.
Right now, I’m following the lead of those at the front lines. The work of reproductive rights and justice organizations is now more critical than ever. I encourage you to support their work. I am also reviewing analysis of the opinion, as we come to terms with any potential implications for other rights we cherish that we must take renewed action to safeguard. We need to redouble our efforts to transform our country, our laws, and our judicial system, so that they recognize the fundamental rights of all in our nation."
United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) issued this statement on Friday.
"Six radical Supreme Court Justices have overturned nearly 50 years of precedent, stripping away the constitutional right to an abortion. After decades of scheming, Republican politicians have finally forced their unpopular agenda on the rest of America. They have decided that the government – not the person who is pregnant – should make a private health care decision and deny women the right to control their own bodies and futures. But these extremists will not have the final word. Democrats have tools to fight back, from legislation in Congress to executive orders from the President to initiatives at the state and local level – we just need to use them. We are angry – angry and determined. We will not go back. Not now. Not ever.”