On Monday, leaked documents obtained by Politico showed that the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case legalizing abortion nationwide, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which affirmed abortion in 1992. In the wake of the news, protesters have gathered across the country to advocate for abortion rights.
“This leak confirms some of our greatest fears,” said Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts, on Boston Public Radio Wednesday.
Many have pointed to the unprecedented nature of a Supreme Court draft decision leak, but Rose focused on something else unprecedented — the taking away of rights.
“Never before has the court overturned a case in a way that narrows civil rights and civil liberties as opposed to expanding them,” she said. “It's really a crisis point.”
While abortion will remain protected in Massachusetts, unlike many other states, Rose said more must be done to safeguard and support abortion providers, including making sure abortion care is affordable, increasing access to care and contraceptives on college campus and providing security at clinics to protect those traveling from out of state where abortion may become illegal.
“We're already seeing an uptick in cases from out of state,” she said. “We need to make sure that abortion is available and accessible to everybody who needs it.”
Rose fears the reasoning in the draft decision, written by Justice Samuel Alito, could have far-reaching effects. “We have to get ready for the long haul, the big game, because I think [the Supreme Court] is going to be coming after birth control,” she said. “They're going to be coming after equal marriage rights and all of the other rights that we believe should be protected in the Federal Constitution.”
Rose also fears a nationwide abortion ban. While some believe state law could override federal law and protect abortion providers at the state level in that case, Rose is not so sure.
“That federal law would make people in Massachusetts subject to federal prosecution, and I don't think the State Constitution protects us from that,” Rose said.
Rose emphasized the widespread effects of this attack on abortion, and what it will take to overcome such threats. “The ACLU, both here in Massachusetts and across the country, is fighting back in the courts, in the state legislatures, in Congress, online, in the streets,” she said. “But it's going to take all of us working together in all 50 states to really push back on this hard in order to protect these fundamental rights to our bodily integrity.”
