Reactions to Supreme Court’s Roe decision
The United States Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade certainly will be one of the most controversial rulings of our era. Here are some of the statements submitted to Lassen News on this topic.
LaMalfa reacts to Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe
Congressman Doug LaMalfa (reacted to the United State Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade, which created a blanket legal protection for women to seek an abortion in the United States. The decision came as the Court deliberated on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case involving a Mississippi law that limits abortions after 15 weeks. Earlier this year on May 2, 2022, an initial draft majority opinion was leaked, indicating that the Supreme Court was prepared to overturn Roe and another abortion case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision repealing Roe is a win for the right to life, for the unborn, and the constitution,” LaMalfa said. “Nearly 50 years ago, a partisan court created a right to abort a child out of thin air. Overturning Roe does not ban abortion, but rightfully returns the abortion debate back to Congress and state legislatures. In our representative republic, those elected by the people should be the ones to create laws and balance tradeoffs, not judges. It is past time that the radical Democrat one party rule stop imposing their immoral and dangerous agenda on the American people.”
Overturning Roe is illegitimate: SCOTUS decision must not stand
RiseUp4AbortionRights.org is calling on people to bring the gears of society to a grinding halt through nonviolent mass resistance to compel the federal government to reverse the overturning of Roe v Wade by codifying into law access to abortion on demand nationwide.
According to RiseUp4AbortionRights’ statement, “To fall silent or stay home as the violence of forced motherhood is cemented into law is to condone and accept female enslavement and the acceleration of a whole theocratic fascist juggernaut coming for contraception, LGBTQ rights, and much more. This is unconscionable and would put a stain on society and on the conscience of everyone who goes along.”
Sunsara Taylor, key initiator of RiseUp4AbortionRights and co-host of Revolution – Nothing Less, said, “The overturning of abortion rights is illegitimate. It must not be allowed to stand! The people need to stand up, to bring the gears of society to a grinding halt through nonviolent mass resistance to compel the federal government to reverse such a decision by codifying into law access to abortion on demand nationwide.”
Merle Hoffman, founder/CEO of Choices Women’s Medical Center, writer and women’s right activist, and co-initiator of RiseUp4AbortionRights, said “This is not the end, but yet another battle in the generational war for Women’s Freedom and Liberation. Women and people of conscience must answer this frontal assault with courage fortitude and disciplined focused rage. The answer to this lies in ourselves.”
Lori Sokol, Executive Director of Women’s eNews, scholar, and co-initiator of RiseUp4AbortionRights,m said, “The Supreme Court’s decision has removed their cloak, proving them to be nothing more than illegitimate political appointees. They now have blood on their hands. We must show our outrage by speaking up and stepping out into the streets. The lives of women now solely depend on us!”
In early January of 2022, Merle Hoffman, Lori Sokol, Sunsara Taylor and other initiators of RiseUp4AbortionRights.org came together as individual long-time activists out of their shared recognition that the Supreme Court was on track to decimate abortion rights.
They issued a Statement which read, in part, “We refuse to let the U.S. Supreme Court deny women’s humanity and decimate their rights! Join us in fighting for Abortion On Demand and Without Apology … The violent subjugation of half of society must not be accommodated, excused, downplayed, or surrendered to. It must be stopped.
Abortion laws will be decided in state capitols
Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement responding to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that returns the question of abortion law to the states.
“In 1973, Roe v Wade was wrongly decided by the court, as the right to an abortion wholly contrived by activist judges. The Dobbs decisions rightfully returns this question to the states. Interestingly, with Democrats holding a 60-vote majority in the Senate and a substantial majority in the House in 2010, they never attempted to codify Roe into federal law, leaving the court with no other choice but to return the issue to the states. If the left wants to blame anyone for today’s (ruling), they should look to Speaker Nancy Pelosi squarely in the eye, ‘Why didn’t you try to put it into federal law?’ The only thing for the court to consider were state laws, and what the limit to those are. In this case, with a solid 6-3 ruling, the court ruled that states are where the issue will remain for the next generation. Suddenly state legislature and gubernatorial races just became a lot more interesting as abortion laws will be decided in state capitols.”
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
“There is no question that today’s Supreme Court decision will have a devastating impact on the health and autonomy of women in America. Yesterday, the right to privacy was secure, with 50 years of precedent behind it. Today, five Supreme Court Justices took that right away for millions and jeopardized it for all Americans. I’m particularly concerned about what this will mean for women and families in rural America. Yesterday, their health care options were limited. Today, the hurdles they face in accessing reproductive care have grown taller. The Department stands ready to explore the tools at our disposal to support them.”
Union leader responds
Here’s a statement from Kathryn Lybarger, UC Berkley gardener and president of AFSCME Local 3299, on the Supreme Court ending nearly 50 years of constitutionally protected reproductive freedom.
“Today, the United States Supreme Court decided to end decades of precedent by overturning a woman’s constitutionally protected right to have an abortion. This is a sad day that rolls back 50 years of progress on healthcare and women’s rights. It is worthy of righteous anger.
“As a union that represents mostly women, immigrants, and people of color — the very people who are disproportionately impacted by this frontal assault on reproductive freedom — this attack is especially personal to our membership. Like the malignant extremism trying to erase Black history and Black votes, trample the rights of our LGBTQ+ siblings and build walls around our country, it subverts the principles of dignity and equality that have guided our nation’s pursuit of a more perfect union for more than two centuries.
“This appalling and misogynistic act of judicial activism is a stark reminder that elections matter. That’s why we’re calling on all of our allies, both inside and outside of the labor movement, to organize as we’ve never organized before at the workplace and in our communities. The 30,000-patient care and service workers of AFSCME 3299 will never stop fighting to restore the freedoms and bodily autonomy that should be protected as fundamental human rights for women everywhere.”
