‘We can’t rely on the court’: NARAL leader says it’s a new era for abortion rights

People nationwide are reacting to this week's leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that indicates the court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade. The decision would give states the power to make abortion fully legal or illegal. Many states already have in place so-called "trigger laws" to limit abortion access if Roe is, in fact, scrapped.

Mini Timmaraju, head of the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, said reproductive rights supporters had been preparing for this outcome. She said the oral arguments in the case last year, combined with the Supreme Court opting not to intervene in a case about Texas' six-week abortion ban, indicated which way the court was leaning. Still, she said the draft opinion penned by Justice Samuel Alito is an "ominous indication" of where the court may go from here.

"The bottom line is we can't rely on the court to protect this fundamental freedom anymore," Timmaraju said. "We have to go to legislatures and to Congress."

She said the Supreme Court's actions last year "opened the floodgates" by signaling to states that they could pass more restrictions. NARAL and other abortion rights advocates have been been speaking with lawmakers across the country to push back against new bans and requirements, as well as to encourage new protections for people who obtain and perform abortions.

"We're seeing bans in Idaho and Oklahoma, Arizona, Florida," she said. "So our volunteers and advocates across the country have really been mobilizing in state legislatures, working with governors on vetoes, working with attorneys general on plans for defense and working with Congress."

She said there are two main fights at play: access to abortion and political extremism.

Last year, the House of Representatives passed the Women's Health Protection Act, which would have enshrined abortion protections into federal law. The measure failed in the Senate with zero Republicans voting in favor.

"The fact that eight out of ten Americans support this legal right, and we can't we can't get legislation effectively passed, is directly connected to erosion of democracy, gerrymandering and the attacks on voting rights," Timmaraju said. "And the opponents that are funding these attacks are all the same. So it's really important to understand we're not dealing with the same Republican Party we were a decade ago. We're dealing with some really, really extreme overreach."

She added that while most Democrats support abortion rights, NARAL is taking a more aggressive stance against Democrats who oppose abortion. Rep. Henry Cuellar, an anti-abortion Democrat representing Texas, faces a hotly contested primary election this year. Timmaraju said the organization is "actively engaged" in that campaign.

In more liberal states, such as Massachusetts, Timmaraju said it's important for voters and politicians not to become complacent.

"Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, New York, New Jersey and Colorado [are] all states that are taking very significant steps to protect access to abortion," she said. "But if we lose the House and the Senate, there is an effort to pass a federal, national six-week abortion ban ... and that would affect people in Massachusetts."

People seeking abortions are already traveling to Massachusetts for care. Timmaraju said abortion funds will be essential to support low-income people and women of color get access to services as more restrictions take effect, as well as to support indepedent clinics and organizations like Planned Parenthood.

"Massachusetts citizens have an opportunity to also engage nationally and help us protect the entire landscape," she said.

Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.