Leaked opinion sparks both outrage and praise
Abortion proponents, foes vow to not give up their fight
HARTFORD — Top Connecticut officials were outraged Tuesday over a leaked draft opinion that the U.S. Supreme Court is planning to overturn the nation’s landmark abortion ruling.
The 98-page document, written by Justice Samuel Alito, set off debate about the highly emotional issue of abortion, and Connecticut leaders pledged to defend abortion rights in the state.
Attorney General William Tong and others said that 36 million women in 26 states could lose access to abortion because legislators in those states have pledged to restrict abortion.
“This is an outrage,’’ Tong said at the state Capitol as a crowd of legislators stood behind him. “It is nothing less than an attack on women and patients and Connecticut families. What the Supreme Court proposes to do is to carpet-bomb fundamental rights that are hard-wired into who we are as Americans. If this decision becomes more than a draft decision and becomes real for all of us, let me tell you what will happen. It will split this country in two.’’
While Democratic leaders like Gov. Ned Lamont, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, and others support abortion rights, others were happy about the proposed decision.
The Family Institute of Connecticut said that supporters must wait for the final decision but said that the ruling would represent “an enormous victory for life in America.’’
Peter Wolfgang, the institute’s longtime executive director, released a statement that hailed the decision.
“Repealing Roe v. Wade is the very thing pro-lifers have marched for, prayed for, worked for, and voted for these last
49 years,’’ he said. “Here in Connecticut, abortion will still be legal for now. The good news is that the debate over HB 5414, the Abortion Expansion Bill, has exposed cracks in the abortion industry’s political support in Connecticut. They won the bill. Pro-lifers won the argument.’’
Wolfgang cited opposition to the recent bill by some members of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus who spoke passionately against the bill. The measure passed by 87-60 in the state House of Representatives and 25-9 in the Senate. They noted that Black women make up only 12% of the population but have 38% of abortions.
“For the first time ever, the split over abortion between the black community and the white progressives who claim to speak for them was exposed,’’ Wolfgang said. “Several black legislators pleaded with their white progressive colleagues to recognize how abortion has targeted the black community and to vote “no” on HB 5414. The refusal of
the white progressives in both parties to listen to their black colleagues marks a turning point in the abortion debate in Connecticut.’’
Wolfgang concluded, “Like our friends on the national level, Connecticut’s pro-lifers will not stop until every unborn child in our state is protected in law and welcomed in life.’’
Abortion advocates and legislators responded with equal passion during a press conference at the Capitol, saying that they, too, would not give up the fight.
“Today is a devastating day,’’ said Rep. Matt Blumenthal, a Stamford Democrat who co-chairs the Reproductive Rights Caucus. “It just makes me that much more glad that this General Assembly has seen fit, in rapid fashion, to pass the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act, which is the strongest law protecting reproductive freedom in the country - and will serve as a blueprint for states across the country seeking to protect the right to choose.’’
Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, a West Hartford Democrat who serves as the caucus co-chairwoman, said she had expected the now-conservative court to push for overturning Roe v. Wade.
“What I was not expecting was the misogyny and the anti-choice rhetoric that comes along with it,’’ Gilchrest said at the Capitol. “That is sexist. It completely ignores a woman’s autonomy, and it disregards the experience of the individual being pregnant in the United States.’’
Later in the day, Lamont announced that he had signed a letter with 16 other governors for Congress to immediately protect abortion rights. Governors from New York, New Jersey, and California said that the rights from the Roe v. Wade ruling should be codified into federal law.
The U.S. House has already passed the codification bill, and it is awaiting action in the Senate.
Outside Hartford, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal tweeted, “If true, this decision would be a horrific moment inflicting a huge leap backward with incalculable costs & chaos for countless women & their families.
“Countless women tonight are feeling scared & alone, but they should know that this fight is far from over. This draft is by no means final & states like CT are stepping up to protect them.”
U.S. Rep. Rosa Delauro, a New Haven Democrat who is a leader on the issue, said she is “horrified, ashamed, and angry.
“If the Supreme Court of the United States rules as this draft is written, this opinion will go down in history as a stain on our country,” delauro said. “It is misguided and will be responsible for stripping away a basic right of women, threatening to undo other constitutional protections for all Americans.”
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill had similar concerns.
“This decision will have a terrible toll — on women, on doctors and nurses providing health care, on our already divided country,” Merrill said. “Women of my generation fought for our entire lives to protect these precious rights — this decision is a betrayal of the blood, sweat, and tears that were poured into this effort. It is cold comfort today, but I am still proud to live in Connecticut, a state that has taken steps to ensure that the right to choose to have an abortion will remain protected.”
Lamont, a Democrat, has pledged to protect abortion rights in Connecticut as the Supreme Court ruling approaches.
“We thought that women had the full range of reproductive choice, going back to Roe v. Wade, going back 50 years when I was young,” Lamont recently told reporters in Hartford. “And it’s incredible that it’s back on the front burner. It’s incredible that the Supreme Court will make the decision that could fundamentally change a woman’s right to choose. A majority of the states across the country already have bills passed or about to be passed that would virtually outlaw a woman’s right to choose — and we’re not going to let that happen in Connecticut.”
Lamont has pledged to sign a bill, passed by both chambers of the legislature, that would expand the medical specialists who are allowed to perform abortion services — allowing advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants and nurse-midwives to provide medication and aspiration abortions in the first trimester.
But Christopher C. Healy, a spokesman for the conference that represents the state’s Roman Catholic bishops, said additional medical providers should not be involved.
“A midwife is supposed to bring children into the world, not exterminate them,” Healy said recently. “We can only pray for these people. Why do we need more people in the abortion business? It has to be done with trained people.”
Healy added, “Around 75% of abortions are performed on low-income women covered by HUSKY, based on information from the Department of Public Health and the Department of Social Services for 2018. This group, which already may be facing inequality in health care due to racial issues, would likely feel the most impact of allowing less qualified providers to perform abortions.”
Healy declined to comment on the leaked draft, saying he wanted to wait until the final decision is publicly released.
The full, 98-page draft opinion by the nation’s highest court was posted online by Politico, a leading outlet that covers national politics.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,’’ Alito wrote, according to the draft of a ruling in a Mississippi case that has been closely scrutinized for months.
Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney of New Haven and Senate majority leader Bob Duff issued a joint statement that the state legislature will continue protecting abortion rights.
“We feared this proposed decision and now this nightmare appears to be all too real,’’ they said. “America is likely headed down a dark path where individual states will adopt conflicting statutes leading to additional divisions in an already divided nation. ... With Democratic majorities, Connecticut will continue to protect the right to make informed choices on reproductive health. We only wish we could say the same for all other states.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a friend of Lamont, tweeted, “A truly dark day in America with the news reports that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. This year, I signed the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act — codifying a woman’s right to choose into state law. New Jersey will not go backwards on reproductive rights.”