New Jersey Rallies Against Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade

June 24, 2022 – This evening, a diverse group of grassroots activists, advocates, elected officials, and community leaders from across the state rallied in South Orange, New Brunswick, and Cherry Hill against the Supreme Court’s decision overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to ban abortion.

Speakers at the rallies stressed the need to stand against injustice and commit to protecting access to abortion care. There was a specific push for the New Jersey Legislature to meet the moment by passing new legislation (A4350) that would break down barriers to abortion care by:

• Mandating that insurance plans in New Jersey cover abortion and birth control with no cost-sharing or out-of-pocket costs just like NY, ME, IL, CA, OR, and WA have done;

• Ensuring state funding for abortion, especially for people who have no pathway to insurance, including some of our immigrant community members;

• Codifying the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners (BME) expansion of medical professionals who can provide abortion care to ensure these qualified providers will always be there for us; and

• Protecting people seeking and providing abortions in New Jersey from extremist violence and the overreach of hostile, antiabortion states.

“By repealing Roe v. Wade today, the Supreme Court has pushed human rights back 50 years,” said Marcia Marley, President of BlueWaveNJ. “This decision is about who controls our bodies, who controls our future, the future of our children and grandchildren and it gives each state control over whether their residents will be able to receive basic reproductive healthcare.”

“The end of Roe v. Wade will have devastating effects on the lives of women across our country,” aisd NJ 11th for Change leaders Mara Novak and Leslie Bockol. “Our state and federal legislators need to ENACT LAWS NOW to protect people’s rights — and access — to abortion and all other reproductive care. Without that, we have no bodily autonomy and no ability to determine our own futures. We have more work to do in New Jersey to make sure that abortion is not just a right, but is accessible and affordable to all.”

“Today’s abortion ruling is a terrible blow to all Americans who value freedom and personal liberty, but it’s especially devastating to women who lack the resources or opportunities to travel to get needed reproductive health care,” said NJEA President Sean M. Spiller. “And make no mistake: when one right can be snatched away, no rights are safe. It’s up to those of us who believe in human rights to fight this awful decision and restore basic human rights to all Americans.”

“The decision of when and whether to have a child is a fundamental human right, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade upends core autonomy and privacy rights in many parts of our country,” said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha. “This moment calls for bold action; anything less is unacceptable. We urge lawmakers to immediately take action to ensure New Jersey expands access to abortion for all as nationwide bans loom.”

“The highest court in the ‘land of the free and home of the brave’ issued a ruling today that strips away the rights of millions to make personal decisions about their own bodies. Outrageous,” said Roslyn Rogers Collins, President and CEO at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey. “Whose rights are next?”

“The League of Women Voters believes every US resident should have access to affordable, quality health care, including birth control, and the privacy to make reproductive choices. As an ally of reproductive rights organizations, we know that safe access to health care, including abortion, is essential to our democracy,” said Debbie McComber, Vice President of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. “Democracy depends on equal rights for all people. Losing our right to reproductive choice would open the door to the loss of other freedoms like marriage equality, contraception, and gender-affirming care. The attack we have seen on voting rights is an attack on democracy. The attack on reproductive choice is a continuation of silencing people in this country.”

“Reproductive justice is racial justice. Today’s Supreme Court decision will disproportionately devastate our already vulnerable communities, particularly women of color and those who struggle financially,” said Andrea McChristian, Law & Policy Director for the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. “Today’s callous decision will only widen the racial disparities that already exist in health care, including abortion, prenatal and preventive care. New Jersey has codified the right to abortion — an important first step — but we must also expand abortion access by making it affordable for all women, including those ineligible for health insurance. We must continue to come together to fight for people of color, for women and for our collective human rights and dignity.”

“Overturning Roe v. Wade will harm countless Americans, particularly those facing the most unthinkable of circumstances, such as in the case of rape, incest, or if someone’s life is put in danger by forcing them to carry a pregnancy to term. In no uncertain terms, the Supreme Court today told Americans they have no right to make their own healthcare decisions,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). “It is now up to us to deliver on efforts to protect Americans’ most basic and fundamental rights. And we will never give up until the cause of freedom is again won.”

“This decision is not conservative, it is radical,” said Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11). “I had hoped against hope that the decision wouldn’t be as extreme as the leaked draft. The court is rolling back a constitutional right, out of step with the majority of our country and almost 50 years of legal precedent. The freedom of women to control their bodies should not hinge on a state line. Women in Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma deserve the same rights as women in New Jersey. With the end of Roe, 28 states will likely take action to prohibit abortion entirely; 13 states already have trigger bans in place. Many of those bans contain no exemptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother. Lives and livelihoods of women across the country are not safe. We are at a crisis moment in our country. I will continue to stand up against government overreach, defend reproductive freedom, and push my colleagues in the Senate to codify Roe.”

“Look at me, look at my family, and tell me that I am not fit to make decisions about my own body,” said Rabbi Alexandra Klein, Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel. “Say it to my face that anyone knows better than me what I need. One who would dare do so is not pro-life, they are anti-choice, they are anti-woman, they are anti-justice.”

“The news is expected but still devastating,” said Anjali Mehrotra, President Of NOW NJ. “Banning abortion does not stop abortions. It just makes them illegal and unsafe! This is about women’s lives. It is about justice and equality.”

“Today,  with this terrible decision, women’s inherent right to govern their own bodies has been stripped away,” said Fran Ehret, New Jersey State Director of the Communications Workers of America. “Women’s rights, like those of all people are a union issue. Employers will stop paying for medically necessary abortions as a result of this decision. In this decision, Clarence Thomas opens the door to eliminating the right to contraceptives and in state’s that still allow it, employers wiIl eliminate it from insurance coverage. Clarence Thomas also opens the door to eliminating marriage equality and other LGBTQIA rights. Once again, people who identify as LGBTQIA will be at risk of being fired for how we identify. We must all stand together to fight back against this slow roll towards fascism.”

“The Soma Action community is heartbroken and furious about today’s SCOTUS decision,” said Jami Thall of SOMA Action. “Today we express our outrage. Tomorrow we get to work to fight for access to abortion for everyone in NJ and around the country.”