ROE Act Coalition Statement on the Confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United State Supreme Court
For Immediate Release: Oct. 26, 2020
BOSTON, Mass.– The ROE Act Coalition issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Senate’s partisan line vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett as the next Justice of the United States Supreme Court:
“The confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett puts our country on the brink of erasing decades of progress for reproductive freedom and gender equity. Abortion access and reproductive freedom now face an existential threat: 16 abortion-related cases are one step away from the Supreme Court, any one of which Justice Barrett could use to gut abortion access or overturn Roe v. Wade altogether.
“Massachusetts must pass the ROE Act immediately. The legal right to abortion does not translate to equitable access for all Bay Staters, and that must change now.
“Massachusetts law is stuck in the past. We still operate under laws written in 1974 by lawmakers who did everything they could to push abortion out of reach after the decision in Roe v. Wade. Massachusetts has a responsibility to pass the ROE Act immediately to ensure that everyone in our Commonwealth can fully access the safe, legal abortion care they need.”
Background:
The ROE Act Coalition is a statewide coalition committed to passing the ROE Act to protect and expand access to abortion in Massachusetts. Founding organizations include the ACLU of Massachusetts, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, and Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts.
The ROE Act, among other provisions, builds safeguards for young people seeking abortion care; includes abortion in the pregnancy-related safety-net coverage provided to Massachusetts residents ineligible for MassHealth coverage; ensures access to abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy in cases of fatal fetal diagnosis; reforms state law to remove inflammatory definitions and medically unnecessary restrictions; and codifies the principles of reproductive freedom into state law.
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