A call for unity in Danbury after ‘horrifying’ abortion ruling
DANBURY — For area residents who said they were “devastated” by the “sickening” and “horrifying” decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and revert authority to regulate abortion to the states, others saw an opportunity for unity.
“For people who think it is a horrible decision for women, I would hope they would try to look at it with fresh eyes and see it from the other side,” said Kristin Gawley, 49, of Danbury, a mother of seven who supports the action of the nation's highest court on Friday to overturn a 49year-old decision giving constitutional protection for abortion.
“I was pro-choice because that is the way I was raised … but when I looked at it objectively and not emotionally, and tried to process it in a straightforward way, I was surprised that I changed my mind,” she said.
Gawley was referring to the decision released Friday that held, “the constitution does not confer a right to abortion” and “the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”
In states such as Con- necticut, which upholds a woman's right to abortion, supports of abortion rights have been anticipating this day since news of the Supreme Court's opinion on the matter was leaked in early May. In response, state lawmakers proposed legislation that would make Connecticut a safe harbor for abortions that Gov. Ned Lamont was expected to sign.
Meanwhile, abortion rights supporters said they planned to “fight like hell to change this.”
“I am devastated that the Supreme Court … is dictating forced childbirth,” said Selina Kay Bell, a mother of three from Ridgefield and co-director of the nonprofit CT Citizens for Science. “To think that an outside entity can decide what a woman must do with her body is draconian.”
Litchfield resident Marit Bez agreed.
“I find this decision of this court to be sickening,” Bez said. “The U.S. Supreme Court has lost my respect, and that outcome speaks to a complete disintegration of our democracy.”
In finding that the constitution “makes no express reference to a right to an abortion,” conservatives on the nine-member Supreme Court ruled that “the right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the nation's history and tradition,” and said the right to obtain an abortion is not “part of a broader entrenched right that is supported by other precedents.”
Instead, in the 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court found that the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision was “egregiously wrong and on a collision course with the Constitution from the day it was decided.”
“Those on the losing side – those who sought to advance the state's interest in fetal life – could no longer seek to persuade their elected representatives to adopt policies consistent with their views,” the ruling said. “The court shortcircuited the democratic process by closing it to the large number of Americans who disagreed with Roe (v. Wade).”
U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th District, disagreed.
“This decision is horrifying and jeopardizes the health care of millions,” Hayes said in a statement.
Hayes, who grew up in public housing in Waterbury and dropped out of high school when she became pregnant, has been open about how life-changing it was for her to have a child so young, and how important it was for the decision to be hers. Hayes went on to put herself through school and was named the National Teacher
of the Year in 2016.
“For decades, we have seen the right to choose under attack, and today, those rights have been stripped away in one swift decision,” Hayes said. “Banning abortions will not stop abortions; it only compels women to risk their lives and health by seeking unsafe abortion care.”
Supporters of abortion rights organized a rally for late Friday afternoon on the New Milford Green.
“Our communities are stronger for all of us when
we can make decisions about our own bodies, our health and our families. Someone you love has had an abortion. Someone you love will need an abortion,” said a statement from organizers before the event.
“People need to be around people who know what they are going through so that they can feel connected with others,” said Will Love of Danbury, leader of the Danbury Area Justice Network, which organized a midMay rally in downtown Danbury to denounce the Supreme Court position.
“What (justices) are failing to recognize is that everybody has an unalienable right to their bodies,” Love said. “Part of the pursuit of happiness and freedom is having control over your body; the government can't say what you can or can't do with your body.”