Between two rallies in downtown Boston Friday evening, thousands of people protested the Supreme Court’s reversal of a constitutional right to abortion — something the majority of Americans support.
The Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision released Friday morning effectively reversed Roe v. Wade by sending the right to have an abortion back to individual states. In more than a dozen states that have "trigger laws," abortion will soon be banned. While Massachusetts has enshrined the right to abortion access through the state's ROE Act, protesters like Sue Hyde lamented the fragility of constitutional rights at the hands of conservatives on the court.
“It’s a bubble that can be burst,” Hyde said of liberal protections in Massachusetts.
Hyde, a Cambridge resident, called attention to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion that laid out a vision for overturning cases that established rights to contraception and same-sex marriage.
“That’s what we have now in the firing line by this out of control Christo-fascist court,” she said, referring to the conservative majority of justices on the court that have made their agenda clear through the decision.
Hyde was joined by dozens of people in an impromptu rally organized by Reproductive Equity Now, a part of the Beyond Roe Coalition, along with the ACLU of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood.
The coalition aims to expand abortion access by mandating insurance coverage for abortion; protecting Massachusetts abortion providers’ licenses and prohibiting extradition for providers who may be charged for providing services to someone who lives in a state that has banned abortion; and increasing education.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, within moments of the decision, signed an executive order that bars Massachusetts from cooperating with extradition attempts from other states that may pursue criminal charges for those receiving or providing abortions in the state.
“We will be a beacon" for the rest of the nation, said Nate Horwitz-Willis, executive director of the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund.
In between organizing chants for the dozens of people gathered in front of the state house, 26-year-old Sam Maxwell of Somerville lauded Massachusetts for protecting abortion rights through the ROE Act and the governor’s executive order, but expressed disappointment with Democrats in Congress who passively promised to protect abortion without protecting it at the federal level.
“I’m [expletive] pissed at Democrats for failing to do [expletive] all,” Maxwell said.
What began as a modest rally on the Boston Common swelled into a huge march of thousands in the streets of Back Bay, converging into a rally on Copley Square organized by Boston branch of the Party for Socialism & Liberation, and then marching back to the State House Friday evening, where as of 8:30 p.m., hundreds of people still milled around holding signs in and around the Boston Common.
Kimberly Barzola, an organizer with the Boston Liberation Center of Roxbury, told GBH News people now need to dig in and organize for reproductive rights the way people did decades ago when the original constitutional right was won.
“People will simply not let this right be taken away from us,” she said. “The actual right to abortion was a hard-fought victory from decades of organizing. … That’s what we have to go back to, and use those same tactics.”
Barzola called for abortion to be legalized at the federal level: “We cannot make this fight year after year.”
Laura, an abortion care provider who declined to give her last name, said while she was devastated by the ruling, there are actions people can take.
“You do not need a medical degree to help people access abortions,” she said. “If you own a car, you are transportation. If you have a job, your money can help fund procedures. If you need a job, you can work in an abortion clinic, we’d love to have you. If you have social media, you can fundraise. If you have a home, you can provide shelter.”
Reporter Craig LeMoult contributed to this report.
