SCOTUS strikes down Roe v Wade, Alaskans react

In a landmark ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court removed constitutional protections for women’s rights to obtain an abortion, a deeply divisive and deeply personal issue for Americans, almost 50 years after Roe v. Wade. While the initial ruling, written by Justice Samuel Alito, had been leaked last month, many were still stunned by the court’s announcement last week.

“It feels awful because it is awful,” said Rose O’Hara-Jolley, Alaska state director with Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates Alaska.

In the opinion issued Friday, Justice Alito stated that Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1992 decision that restated the right to abortion, were wrong had and to be overturned, writing in part:

“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

Joining Alito in the majority were Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — the more liberal wing of the court — were in opposition.

“With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent,” they wrote, warning that abortion opponents now could seize upon the opportunity for a nationwide ban without exceptions for rape, incest, or threat to the mother’s health.

The dissenting justices also wrote that this decision “eliminates a 50-year-old constitutional right that safeguards women’s freedom and equal station,” before concluding that the decision would undermine the Court’s legitimacy.

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined with the dissenting opinion, writing that there was no need to overturn the broad precedents to rule in Mississippi’s favor (the basis for the case the Supreme Court ruled on).

Roe v. Wade was a groundbreaking decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973. The Court ruled that the Constitution generally protects a woman's right to choose to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and state abortion laws and drove an ongoing abortion debate about whether, or to what extent, abortion should be legal, who should decide the legality of abortion, and what role moral and religious views play in the political debate.

In the Roe v Wade decision, the Supreme Court held that the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution provides a fundamental "right to privacy", which protects a woman's right to an abortion. The Court also held that the right to abortion is not absolute and must be balanced against the government's interests in protecting women's health and prenatal life. The Court also classified the right to abortion as "fundamental", which requires courts to evaluate challenged abortion laws under the "strict scrutiny" standard, the most rigorous level of judicial review in the United States.

The court’s overturning of the landmark ruling will lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states. Clinics in at least eight states stopped performing abortions after Friday’s decision. Texas and Oklahoma already have the most restrictive abortion laws with a near-complete ban in Oklahoma and a prohibition after six weeks in Texas. In roughly a half-dozen other states, the fight will be over inactive abortion bans that were enacted well before Roe was decided, or new proposals to sharply limit when abortions can be performed.

Here in Alaska, the state had legalized abortion before the 1973 decision was issued. The right to an abortion continues to be protected under the state constitution’s privacy clause, as well as several Alaska Supreme Court rulings.

In 1997, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that “reproductive rights are fundamental, and that they are encompassed within the right to privacy expressed” the Alaska Constitution, including the “fundamental reproductive rights include the right to an abortion.”

However, a statement released by Governor Mike Dunleavy, called for a vote on a constitutional amendment that could remove constitutional protections for abortion in Alaska through a public vote. His was just one of several reactions from key Alaska political figures in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision.

Passing a constitutional amendment requires 2/3 approval of the state House, the state Senate, and a majority of participating voters in the next general election — something that many political watchers believe is unlikely to happen.

Governor Dunleavy is up for re-election later this year, and the ruling and his stance may come into play as he faces several candidates vying for Governor.

Les Gara, a democrat running against Dunleavy, condemned the Supreme Court decision in a press release.

“Alaska will become the last line of defense for a woman’s right to choose, and to make her own private health decisions,” he said, stating that he would veto anti-choice legislation and seek to appoint judicial candidates who are able to leave politics aside and follow precedent protecting choice.

Former Gov. Bill Walker, running as an independent, in a statement said that while he personally identified as “pro-life,” believes his role as Governor was to uphold the state’s constitution. He also stated he will take no actions to end or restrict abortion access in Alaska, saying he would actively veto any bills and oppose any constitutional amendments that would attempt to do so.

Christopher Kurka, a Wasilla state representative also running for governor, said he was “overjoyed” by the ruling. He urged Dunleavy to call a special legislative session to pass the Alaska Life at Conception Act, which would criminalize abortion and guarantee the equal protection of “preborn Alaskans.” He also called for Governor Dunleavy to immediately stop allowing state Medicaid funds to pay for abortions.

Kurka is the former executive director of the anti-abortion organization Alaska Right to Life.

Republican gubernatorial candidate and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce stated his support of the court’s decision, saying on social media that he also supports adoption with counseling for all parties, and that Alaskans would decide the fate of a constitutional convention, which would offer a chance to address “many, many items.”

Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is running for reelection in November, supports abortion rights. In a statement released on Friday, Murkowski said that it’s now “up to Congress to respond,” adding, “Today the Supreme Court went against 50 years of precedent in choosing to overturn Roe v. Wade. The rights under Roe that many women have relied on for decades — most notably a woman’s right to choose — are now gone or threatened in many states.”

Murkowski noted that she introduced legislation back in February to protect women’s rights as provided under Roe and that she continues to work to “restore women’s freedom to control their own health decisions wherever they live.”

Primary Republican opponent, Kelly Tshibaka, who is campaigning on a platform of conservative values and has called for strict abortion access, called the decision a “massive victory for millions of preborn children to come” on her social media account.

Alaska’s other U.S. senator, Republican Dan Sullivan, said he also supported the Supreme Court decision.

“I recognize that abortion is a profoundly emotional issue upon which many Alaskans have strongly held views and serious disagreements,” Sullivan said. “The decision today does not by any stretch end that debate. However, it does take the debate out of the realm of federal courts, and gives it back to the states and the people of our country, where I believe it belongs.”

In November, Alaskans will vote on whether to call a constitutional convention, which could pave the way for a very long process to change the state constitution, including allowing for a statewide abortion ban.

Protests were immediate across the U.S., including thousands demonstrating against the decision outside the barricaded Supreme Court. Closer to home, on Friday, roughly 150 people gathered in downtown Anchorage to protest the ruling, while a second rally and march were held Saturday.

Meanwhile, O’Hara-Jolley said that this decision will not stop the work Planned Parenthood does, stating that, “We’re going to rebuild and reclaim the freedom that is ours, and we will never stop fighting to restore and defend the rights of people seeking sexual and reproductive health care.”