LYNN — In the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade Friday, officials from across the region expressed mixed reactions to the landmark decision, with many calling the court’s move disappointing and expressing anger.
The 6-3 decision in the case known as Dobbs v. Jackson removed the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe, a 1973 decision in which the court found that a woman’s right to an abortion was part of a broader right to privacy.
In a statement, state Sen. Brendan Crighton, a Lynn resident, said the court’s decision will negatively impact millions of women across the nation.
“The Dobbs opinion will jeopardize the lives of millions of women, especially those in poor and marginalized communities. This is not where our fight ends, but where it begins,” Crighton said. “To the women who feel like second-class citizens today, we see you, we hear you, and we stand by you.”
Others, like Cardinal Séan O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, hailed the move.
“For all of us who have spoken, written, worked, marched, and prayed to reverse Roe v. Wade, today’s Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson is deeply significant and encouraging,” O’Malley said.
Reaction from elected officials across the state on both sides of the aisle primarily aligned with Crighton — with U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton de-crying the ruling as a “dark day in American history.”
“We should all pray that Americans come together at the ballot box to turn back the Republicans who believe that they should own our freedoms, own our Congress, and own our Supreme Court for themselves,” Moulton, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Immediately following the ruling, Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, signed an executive order that bars Massachusetts from cooperating with extradition attempts from other states that pursue criminal charges in connection with “receiving or performing” reproductive health services that are legal in the state.
The executive order also protects health care professionals in Massachusetts from losing their licenses or other forms of professional discipline due to out-of-state charges.
In a written statement, Baker said that he was disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision, and that he remains dedicated to protecting health care professionals in Massachusetts treating out-of-state patients.
“I am deeply disappointed in today’s decision by the Supreme Court which will have major consequences for women across the country who live in states with limited access to reproductive health care services,” Baker said in a statement. “The Commonwealth has long been a leader in protecting a woman’s right to choose and access to reproductive health services, while other states have criminalized or otherwise restricted access. This executive order will further preserve that right and protect reproductive health care providers who serve out of state residents.”
The Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association said that although it is not yet clear what the effect of Friday’s ruling will be on the demand for abortion services in the Commonwealth, adding abortions will continue regardless of whether or not the practice is constitutionally protected.
“We echo the serious concerns of our colleagues across the country about what this will mean for the safety and wellbeing of patients in states that are stripping these fundamental rights away. This much we do know: no law can prevent someone from terminating a pregnancy, the association said in a statement. “It can only prevent them from doing so safely with the consult of experienced, compassionate clinicians.”
Massachusetts Attorney General and Democratic candidate for governor Maura Healey said the decision marks the first time the Supreme Court “has taken away a constitutional right” and said that Massachusetts will “do everything we can to ensure patients from across the country can receive needed care and to support and protect our providers who are offering that care.”
O’Malley also said that although he was pleased with the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the Catholic Church should reject any punishment or harassment of women who have had abortions.
“We also adamantly reject stigmatizing, criminalizing, judging, or shaming women who have had abortions or are considering them. Too often isolated and desperate, women have felt they had no other choice. They need and deserve spiritual, emotional, and material support from the Church and from society,” he said.
Former Lynn elementary school teacher and pro-life activist John Kwiatek said that he was glad to hear that the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, and that he hopes Massachusetts will follow in the Supreme Court’s footsteps.
“The Supreme Court has finally agreed that Roe v. Wade was a bad idea, and it’s a relief to me because I have for many many years believed that abortion is the taking of an innocent life,” Kwiatek said. “People in Massachusetts seem to be of the opinion that abortion is a necessary thing, and I will continue to fast and pray that they, like the Supreme Court, will come to their senses and realize that it’s not a right, it’s a wrong.”
But retired Lynn Women’s Health obstetrician-gynecologist Louis Vas said he is “deeply upset” by the court’s decision.
“I was an abortion provider many years, and it was never a casual decision by anybody, it’s just a right that people should have. What can I say, it’s just horrible, shocking,” Vas said. “I imagine that there will be women coming from out-of-state who can afford it, but it’s a very sad day. Women in my family have had abortions and it was all necessary, nobody regrets it. I think it’s a very sad time.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].