Communities across the nation protest amid Supreme Court draft opinion on Roe V. Wade

A draft opinion, revealing that the Supreme Court plans to dismantle the fundamental right to abortion and overturn nearly 50 years of precedent, has been met with a wave of protests across the country. 

The draft, which was published by Politico on Monday, is not final but has prompted communities, activists, lawmakers and governors, including North Carolina’s Governor Roy Cooper, to protect reproductive rights for millions. 

• If made final and the landmark Roe v. Wade is overturned, approximately 26 states will ban or severely restrict abortion almost immediately, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
  
• Currently in North Carolina, abortion is safe and legal, and even immediately after the Supreme Court issues their final decision, the future of abortion rights here in North Carolina depends on our state’s elected officials.
  
• Similar to their GOP counterparts in other states, Republicans in the NCGA have consistently pushed back against reproductive health measures – attempting to restrict or ban abortion in North Carolina. However, Governor Cooper and state Democrats have held firm in voting against these abortion restrictions. 

• Since the opinion was released, North Carolina Republicans have expressed their intentions to further restrict abortion in North Carolina. Rep. Kidwell announced that he is “drafting legislation similar to the Texas abortion ban.” Lt. Governor Mark Robinson has also released a statement calling on the General Assembly to act in light of the court’s opinion.

The GOP’s renewed attack on reproductive rights will have a disproportionate impact on Black, Brown, LGBTQ+ folks, people earning low incomes, and those that live in rural communities, where health care can be extremely hard to access. 

It is no coincidence that the same people who are attempting to overturn Roe V. Wade, also refused to pass voting rights protections while encouraging partisan gerrymandering.

Bottom Line:

With a majority of Americans support upholding Roe V. Wade, and agreeing abortion should be legal in all or most cases – the bottom line couldn’t be any clearer: The power and freedom to make personal decisions that are best for our lives should be determined by ourselves, not politicians.

If Republicans so boldly infringe on that freedom, they should expect voters to make their voices heard at the ballot box.