MASS. READY TO FIGHT OVER ABORTION RIGHTS
Pro-choice activists in Massachusetts are on “high alert” to defend Roe v. Wade, mobilizing in expectation of an assault on abortion rights by the Supreme Court’s new conservative majority with Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment.
“If we believe that a case before the Supreme Court presents a clear and present danger to Roe, women and families of Massachusetts will certainly be marching to make clear that our state supports reproductive freedom,” Rebecca Hart Holder, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, told the Herald yesterday. “We are on high alert and certainly will rally if there’s an imminent threat.”
With Kavanaugh now on the court after a heated and brutally partisan confirmation process, progressives fear the increasingly conservative panel of judges could severely limit abortion rights nationwide.
“President Trump did campaign on a promise to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Holder said, referring to the case that established nationwide abortion rights nearly five decades ago. “The most likely outcome is that Roe stands, but states continue to pass increasingly restrictive abortion laws.”
Wendy Murphy, a local attorney and women’s rights activist, said grassroots activists are “mobilizing” to advocate for Roe — and to push to get the long-talked-about Equal Rights Amendment ratified, which would ensure that constitutionally guaranteed rights not be denied based on someone’s sex.
“It would give more heft to the women’s rights side of the equation,” Murphy told the Herald.
Murphy said Kavanaugh’s previous opinions have suggested a willingness to permit more restrictive abortion laws.
“He’s inclined to uphold restrictions that will diminish the intended original scope of Roe v. Wade, which was to make abortion widely available,” Murphy said.
Jordan Berg Powers, director of progressive group Mass Alliance, said his organization would stand with whatever moves abortion-rights organizations NARAL and Planned Parenthood make.
“We’ll take their lead — whatever they tell us to do, we’ll show up for,” Powers said.
On the other side of the issue, Andrew Beckwith of the Massachusetts Family Institute said he believes a full overturn of Roe is unlikely, but he said he is optimistic about the odds of the court allowing more restrictive abortion laws.
“I do think the changes in medical technology will make a difference” in supporting the arguments for more restrictive
rules, Beckwith said.
But Beckwith said he is worried by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ statements defending her support of Kavanaugh, in which she said she’s been reassured that he won’t gut Roe. “Conservatives have been burned multiple times by Supreme Court picks,” Beckwith said, citing liberal shifts by Republican appointees David Souter and John Paul Stevens. Meanwhile, Attorney General Maura Healey told the Herald in a statement: “Women have the constitutional right to make decisions about their own bodies. I will do everything I can to ensure that all women in Massachusetts are able to obtain the reproductive health care services they need.”