COURT HOUSE – Advocates for abortion rights expressed their disappointment with the June 24 U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Americans’ constitutional right to abortion, while those opposing abortion rights rejoiced in the decision, proclaiming the “sanctity of every person in order to end the scourge of abortion and any attack on human life.”
Now, the legal status is up to each state.
“We will ensure that every woman in New Jersey has access to an abortion and to the full range of reproductive services they deserve as a matter of right,” stated New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, in remarks published on the governor’s website.
The ruling came down because of a Mississippi case about whether the state could ban most abortions after 15 weeks. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court conservative supermajority said it could, and in doing so, five justices also decided to overturn Roe v. Wade, saying their predecessors were “egregiously wrong” to give the right to abortion in the first place. Justice Samuel Alito argued in the majority opinion, “It’s not in the Constitution, even implicitly.”
Roe v. Wade, which said the Constitution generally protected the right for women to choose an abortion, was decided nearly 50 years ago, in 1973.
Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the majority in the Mississippi case but rejected their logic in overturning Roe v. Wade. The three dissenting justices – Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor – argued their colleagues had revoked a “50-year-old constitutional right that safeguards women’s freedom and equal station.”
Decision Takes Rights Away
Deborah de la Cretaz, a 68-year-old mother and grandmother from North Cape May, has always been active in her community and is currently a member of Cape May County Indivisible, a local, progressive grassroots group fighting for social, racial, reproductive, and environmental justice, according to its Facebook page.
De la Cretaz, who is the municipal leader of the Lower Township Democrat Municipal Committee, said she became involved in politics during the 2016 election, “working very hard” for Hillary Clinton.
“I would not believe that a man like Trump could actually win, but win he did,” she said. “Since then, I have been following and watching his attempt at demolishing democracy and the country I came to know and love. It made me fearful that someone like him could just walk in and put our country in such danger, including packing the Supreme Court with his people, who lied in front of the American people. It meant nothing to him. It still is beyond my comprehension how so many people believe his lies and conspiracy theories.”
“I could not sit back and watch his policies destroy our country, so I got involved with various organizations that marched and rallied against his attempts at dismantling Obamacare that helped millions of women get the help that they needed, defunding Planned Parenthood and the absolute attack on women’s rights by placing three conservative judges on the Supreme Court that led to the cancellation of Roe v. Wade,” she continued.
“I got angry, if not angrier, at the decision, not just because of me, but because of my daughter and grandchildren,” she explained.
She has two children and two grandchildren.
“I believe every woman in this country has the right to decide what they wish to do with their body and their right to privacy,” she added. “I am angry because it (the decision) takes those rights away. I am angry over the fact that they are making women have children that they can’t afford that will end up being added to an already overburdened system. I am angry that women who find out that the child that they are carrying is not viable but will be made to go through the heartbreak of giving birth and burying the child within hours/days. I am angry that women who are raped will be made to give birth and possibly have to share custody with the rapist. I am angry about the possible physical and psychological effects it will have on these women, but what makes me most angry is the fact that five men decided that women do not have a right to privacy nor control of their own bodies.”
De la Cretaz said she is “grateful to live in New Jersey where it is safe for women to obtain an abortion, but we still have a long way to go for women’s rights and I can only hope that the legislators in New Jersey will act accordingly. However, I will be watching.”
Rally in Court House June 30
A peaceful rally to support women’s rights and to show lawmakers that “we are the majority and that this never should have happened” has been organized by Cape May County Indivisible for 3 p.m. June 30 at the Cape May County Courthouse on Route 9, in Court House.
Catholic Diocese Calls for Building Post-Roe America
“Here, in New Jersey, which boasts one of the most permissive abortion laws in the country, pro-life Catholics and people of goodwill still have much work to be done,” said Diocese of Trenton Bishop David O’Connell C.M., in a statement. “Our opponents are many and occupy the highest positions in the state. We must continue the good work that today’s decision represents and persistently proclaim the sanctity of every person in order to end the scourge of abortion and any attack on human life. We must persevere in our support of pregnant women and young families facing difficult circumstances so that they must never feel that abortion is their only option. The innocent, vulnerable unborn – and their mothers – deserve no less.”
Efforts to reach the local Cape May County Right to Life group before press time were unsuccessful.
“Now is the time to begin the work of building a post-Roe America,” said the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a statement. “It is a time for healing wounds and repairing social divisions; it is a time for reasoned reflection and civil dialogue, and for coming together to build a society and economy that supports marriages and families, and where every woman has the support and resources she needs to bring her child into this world in love.”
Murphy Pledges Access in NJ
Murphy called the decision “infuriating and disappointing,” stating the “U.S. Supreme Court clarified, in no uncertain terms, that they do not value the women in our country or their ability to make their own decisions about their bodies.”
He signed legislation in January, codifying a woman’s right to abortion into state law.
“I am prepared to take whatever action I can to secure a woman’s full bodily autonomy and expand access to reproductive freedom,” he said. “Where we can, we will act to protect the rights and privacy of any woman who comes to New Jersey from states in which their rights are now eviscerated, if not entirely erased.”
“I give my gratitude to the legislative leadership who recognized, as we did, the dire threat that this right-wing Court posed, and who worked with us to enshrine a woman’s reproductive freedom in state law,” he continued.
“In the darkness of this decision, I look forward to working collaboratively with them to further strengthen access to reproductive care and protecting a women’s right to her own body. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, New Jersey will always stand on the side of our women. We will never stand between them and their doctors,” he added.
Legislators Respond
U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez (both D-NJ) issued statements via email about the decision.
“Overturning Roe v. Wade will harm countless Americans, particularly those facing the most unthinkable of circumstances, such as in the case of rape, incest, or if someone’s life is put in danger by forcing them to carry a pregnancy to term,” Booker stated. “In no uncertain terms, the Supreme Court told Americans they have no right to make their own health care decisions.”
“This radical decision is the result of a decades-long assault waged by Republicans to undermine Americans’ constitutional rights,” he added. “That assault will only accelerate in the weeks and months ahead.”
Menendez called the decision “devastating and disastrous,” stating, “It will impact millions of American women and will forever be a stain on our country’s history. Where a woman lives, and her income level will now determine her ability to access reproductive health options.”
“I am grateful that New Jersey is and will continue to be a beacon of reproductive freedom in our nation, and that we have a governor and a state Legislature who will continue to protect a woman’s right to choose,” he continued.
“I will never be able to personally understand the pain that this decision causes women across America, but my pledge to you is that I will work with you to ensure every single woman in New Jersey and across the nation has equal access to abortion care,” he continued. “We cannot let them go further. We will not let them touch civil rights, voting rights, or LGBTQ+ rights, and we will continue this fight every day after until full reproductive health care access is fully restored.”
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-1st) issued the following statement June 24:
“The U.S. Supreme Court has the sacred responsibility of interpreting the Constitution and upholding our nation’s founding principles free from political interference, which is exactly what it did today.
“The integrity of the Court and its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade must be respected, and we must come together to reject the latest attempts by those who disagree with today’s decision to abolish or pack the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court made the right decision to return this issue to the states so they can create their own laws regarding abortion. Here, in New Jersey, we must continue to speak out and fight against Gov. Murphy’s radical policies that call for taxpayer-funded partial birth abortions.
“I am also calling on President Biden and House Democrats to forcefully condemn the radical left’s continued calls for a ‘Night of Rage’ and to take immediate action to protect pro-life clinics, some of which have already been graffitied and firebombed in the weeks leading up to this decision.”
States, Opinions Differ on Allowing Abortion
Twenty-six states are expected to ban abortions, while others have vowed to be safe havens and are adding extra funds to abortion care.
U.S. Department of Justice research has demonstrated that abortion bans most severely impact people in marginalized groups who already struggle to access health care, including abortion.
The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that conducts public opinion polling among other data-driven social science research, reports that nearly one in five U.S. adults (19%) say that abortion should be legal in all cases, with no exceptions. Fewer (8%) say abortion should be illegal in every case, without exception.
By contrast, 71% either say it should be mostly legal or mostly illegal or say there are exceptions to their blanket support for, or in opposition to, legal abortion.
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.
