As news spread of the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of historic abortion rights case Roe v. Wade on Friday, Bay Area residents, politicians and community leaders expressed shock, anger, grief — and a drive to fight back.
Though abortion remains legal in California, the decision is expected to lead to full or partial abortion bans in more than half of the states in the country. In the Bay Area and throughout the largely pro-choice Golden State, many viewed Friday’s decision as a major setback for women’s rights, and protests were expected to take place throughout the day. But in light of the news, California abortion providers, politicians and activists vowed to double-down on efforts to ensure locals and people from out of state continue to have access to the procedure. And Gov. Gavin Newsom joined with the governors of Oregon and Washington to issue a “multi-state commitment” to protect access to abortion and contraceptives while also thwarting other states’ efforts to penalize residents who come to the West Coast for the procedure.
“We will not sit on the sidelines and allow patients who seek reproductive care in our states or the doctors that provide that care to be intimidated with criminal prosecution,” Newsom said in a statement. “We refuse to go back and we will fight like hell to protect our rights and our values.”
California, Oregon and Washington have pledged to work to protect patients who seek abortions in their states (and abortion providers who perform the services) from punishment by other states with abortion bans, seek to prevent local law enforcement and courts from cooperating with out-of-state, abortion-related investigations and arrests, and refuse to extradite people for receiving, supporting or giving abortions in California, Oregon or Washington.
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California reaffirmed its commitment to open its services to anyone seeking the procedure from out of state.
“To people across the country living in a state hostile to abortion: California is here for you,” President and CEO Jodi Hicks said in a statement. “We will not turn people away, and we will find a way to support you so that you can get the care you need.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the decision Friday morning calling it “deadly serious” and juxtaposed it to the court’s Thursday ruling that gives Americans a broad right to carry guns in public.
“Such a contradiction — yesterday, to say the states cannot make laws governing the constitutional right to bear arms. And today, they’re saying the exact reverse that the states can overturn a constitutional right — for 50 years a constitutional right for women having the right to choose,” she said. “The hypocrisy is raging, but the harm is endless.”
“While Republicans seek to punish and control women, Democrats will keep fighting ferociously to enshrine Roe v. Wade into the law of the land,” she added.
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco applauded Friday’s decision, and said it amounted to the Supreme Court removing a “so-called Constitutional right” to abortion that had been erected out of thing air.
“This historic Supreme Court decision would not have happened without fifty years of patient, loving, hard work by people of all faiths and none in diverse fields including social service, religion, law, medicine, culture, education, policy and politics,” he said in a statement. “But our work has just begun.”
Mary Ann Yuen, 78, remembers when Roe first became law in 1973.
“There were people dying — that’s something people don’t understand,” said Yuen, who lives in downtown San Jose. “You don’t have to have an abortion. You can have one if you wish, or at least get information so that you can make the best decision for you. It isn’t always because you don’t want the child.”
Her husband, Manuel Yuen, said he’s angry that several Supreme Court justices went back on their word to uphold Roe as settled law when they were being confirmed.
Joy Oh’s phone lit up this morning, fielding texts from several of her female friends processing the news. As a 27-year-old living in San Jose, she believes Californians may be OK, but worries about folks in neighboring states like Utah and Arizona. While Oh doesn’t necessarily consider herself an activist, she’s already started thinking of ways to help connect people to resources.
“This is such a sad day — it feels very personal,” Oh said, explaining how she’s been impacted through a friend’s recent experience taking an abortion pill, despite not yet using these services herself. “Listening to her story, this might not be my personal story, but it is every other women’s story and it’s the same thing for men, too.”
At the Planned Parenthood clinic in Walnut Creek — where anti-abortion protests regularly become confrontational, and on rare occasions, violent — a small crowd of regular demonstrators had gathered in cautiously optimistic spirits.
“This is a small-term victory, but if any abortion is still going on legally, it’s not really a victory,” said James Cook, a pastor in Concord who brought his two children along to the demonstration, along with a microphone and speaker to project his voice so people entering the clinic could hear him.
Volunteers who escort patients away from the more hostile protesters say they’re expecting the biweekly crowds to become increasingly demonstrative as the decision’s ripple effects become clear.
“They haven’t become much different over the years, just louder and more aggressive,” said Rand Chritton, a Lafayette resident whose late father was a volunteer escort at Planned Parenthood before he took up the mantle. “We’re going to be doing the same thing we’ve been always doing, which is providing a safe environment for somebody who might be in a really difficult time in their life.”
At the federal building in San Jose, an assortment of elected officials and passersby crowded together Friday morning, passing homemade signs and exchanging concerned words about the Supreme Court decision. Backgrounded by city councilmembers in bright pink and yellow pantsuits, San Jose representatives and abortion rights advocates took to the podium, sharing personal stories of frustration and calling on those with a voice to speak up.
At times during the address, the group of around 50 erupted into cheers, repeatedly chanting “our bodies, our choice.”
Diane Rosenthal, a high school teacher in San Jose, and her 16-year-old daughter Norah made their way to the federal building, searching for a way to express their frustration.
“We know that this isn’t going to change anything by us being here,” Diane said. “But I wanted my daughter to see that if you have a voice, you have to use it.”
When she found out about the news, Patti Green Roe left work to hear her community leaders at the federal building. She was reminded of life decades ago, when she was in high school before abortion rights were guaranteed.
“If you got pregnant in high school, you basically had to drop out and go to continuation school,” Green Roe said. “It’s scary to think we might be on a path to that again in some states.”
Ruth Robertson, 69, of the national activist group the Raging Grannies Action League, said the decision is the most recent indication that human rights across the nation “are being decimated.”
“We know what the horrors are when abortion is not legal and not accessible,” Robertson said. “Women will die. Many people and families will be affected in ways they didn’t even imagine.”
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, echoed Robertson’s grief and urged Democrats to “take back our government at all levels.”
“Today is a dark day in our nation’s history,” he said in a statement. “In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court has obliterated a core constitutional right: The right to make major decisions about one’s own body and life. This horrific decision — effectively removing people’s agency over whether and when to start or grow a family — is a disaster for millions across the country.”
Wiener vowed that California will continue to double down on access to reproductive health care, and urged Congress to do the same by eliminating the filibuster to allow legislators to pass abortion rights legislation.
State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, called Friday’s decision an “outrage.”
“California will not be passive,” she said in a statement. “We will be a national beacon for reproductive justice and guaranteed access to abortion, not just for Californians, but for those who seek services and care here.”
Harmeet Dhillon, a San Francisco attorney who represents pro-life clients, said Friday’s ruling is very moving to her as a lawyer and as an activist.
“Abortion remains the law in many states in the country, even up to the ninth month like in California, and that’s something that’s going to require a cultural shift in our country,” said Dhillon, who founded The Center for American Liberty. “I don’t think laws are going to be able to change that. But as for today, this means many more millions of children are going to live in the United States, and I think that’s a great thing.”
JanLee Marshall, 52, of Concord said she awoke to word of the decision — a moment that left her in a state of shock, even after reading the draft decision last month.
“There’s no way to prepare for your rights to be taken away,” Marshall said.
In downtown San Francisco on Friday morning, she wore a rainbow-colored shirt reading “Our bodies. Our choice. Our rights. Pro women. Pro choice.”
“I can’t even articulate how pissed off I am,” she said. “It’s about autonomy. It’s about women’s rights. It’s about stupid old, white men having control over our bodies. And I’m tired of it.”
Nancy Kato, a San Francisco-based organizer with the National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice, said the decision ratchets up a battle for reproductive healthcare that’s been raging for more than a decade.
“Everything that has been going on for the past 10-15 years — with regards to the right wing agenda — was setting up this court decision,” Kato said. “What we have now is that the floodgates have opened.”
And even though officials across California, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have vowed to protect the right to abortion in the nation’s largest state, Kato said that’s not a solution for the vast majority of woman who may need healthcare services.
“What we want is affordable healthcare for everybody no matter where you live,” she said. “We have a battle on our hands – and we’ll continue to fight.”
Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who has served on Planned Parenthood’s national and regional boards, said she is concerned about the implications for medical schools, wondering if doctors will be allowed to teach how to perform an abortion. She said she and Supervisor Susan Ellenberg referred $3 million to Planned Parenthood earlier this year to build a teaching center locally, in anticipation of Friday’s ruling coming down the pike.
“I think one big issue here is that once you have the right, it’s the access that verifies you have the right,” Chavez said. “Otherwise, you have a right with no meaning.”
Gilda Gonzalez, the head of Planned Parenthood Northern California, said clinics across the region already have seen an uptick in patients coming from other states to seek abortions.
More are expected to arrive in the coming weeks and months, which she suggested could eventually lead to both additional hiring and more security at the Bay Area’s facilities.
“Our plan right now is to stay the course and be here for patients, but we’ll have to pivot as we see more of the impact from this decision,” Gonzalez said.
Moments after the ruling was released Friday morning, abortion rights advocates in San Francisco announced a march to protest the decision beginning at 5 p.m. at the Phillip Burton Federal Courthouse, at 450 Golden Gate Ave.
Organizers said they feared the decision also could imperil access to contraception, voting rights and LGBTQ rights.
“This court and right-wing misogynists will not be content to overturn legal abortion. It will not stop there,” Norma Gallegos, one of the organizers, said in a statement Friday morning. “Without access to abortion, there will be medical disasters, deaths and people thrown into jail. Working women who are white will be impacted, but women of color will be hurt even more.”
In San Jose, a rally was planned for 11 a.m. at City Hall.
