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By State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven

In threatening to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court has become an illegitimate institution. Overturning a seminal, settled constitutional right is a flagrant violation of the intended duties of the judicial branch. This is a violent attack on health care access, abortion rights, and reproductive justice that will disproportionately harm queer, transgender, Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, young people, and working-class people.

The majority of justices — five out of nine — were appointed by presidents that lost the popular vote. Our system is deeply flawed, undemocratic, and in need of structural change.

With a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, as well as a Democrat in the White House, we not only have the ability, but the responsibility to codify the right to abortions across the country. We should be expecting and demanding more from our elected officials at the national level, who could pass legislation to protect the right to an abortion.

If we are serious about reproductive justice, platitudes of “We’re with you” are not enough. This is an existential crisis of our democracy, and I encourage you to join me in calling upon our national legislators to act swiftly to protect the right to abortion.

The Local Impact: Abortion Access in Massachusetts

There is some not-bad news: in Massachusetts, we have a solid foundation of abortion protections that will hold firm, regardless of what the Supreme Court does. 16 months ago, we passed the ROE Act in MA, which prevents what happened with SB8 in Texas. That means if Roe v. Wade gets overturned by the Supreme Court, you will still be able to access abortion care in Massachusetts. The ROE Act removed all criminalization language and cleaned up the laws on the books since 1974. It also crucially removed barriers to access for 16 and 17-year-olds in need of reproductive health care.

We would not be where we are today without the advocacy and leadership of groups like Sister Song and the countless Black, Indigenous, Queer, and Trans people who have led the reproductive justice movement. For decades, they have been fighting to protect the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.

I am also proud to co-sponsor and advocate for Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund’s priority bills: increase access to medication abortion, full spectrum pregnancy care, equitable birth access and safety, and LGBTQ+ inclusive sexual education, to name a few.

We did the right thing by codifying the right to abortion in MA. But, we can and must be doing a hell of a lot more for people seeking reproductive health care. At this time of existential crisis for our democracy, we must be thinking as boldly as possible about how we can center reproductive justice because we are far from all set here in MA. There are several areas of improvement I believe we must address in our abortion code.

Misinformation

While abortion access is currently and will remain fully legal in Massachusetts, we still face a public health crisis in abortion care. There are nearly 30 crisis pregnancy centers (also known as CPCs or fake clinics) across the state of Massachusetts. These are unlicensed institutions disguised as medical centers that deter people from choosing an abortion through misleading and often medically inaccurate persuasion techniques.

The Somerville City Council voted to ban CPCs in the city just last month, for which I am deeply grateful. There are currently no fake clinics in Somerville, and this proactive measure will serve as a deterrent for malicious actors.

Unfortunately, in areas like the Cape and Western Massachusetts, CPCs are often more accessible than the nearest abortion provider. This is a public health crisis: it is easier for pregnant people to access fake clinics with unlicensed staff than it is for them to access the safe, legal abortion care to which they have a right.

The State House has the ability and responsibility to follow in the Somerville City Council’s lead and ban CPCs statewide.

Access

Furthermore, the ROE Act, while a crucial step in codifying the right to an abortion in MA, was chiseled down from a much more comprehensive and justice-informed original version. I see two further changes we must pursue to our current abortion code:

First, the ROE Act originally would have allowed for a full spectrum of reasons for an abortion beyond 24 weeks, including the physical or mental health of the pregnant person. However, the final language that was passed essentially only allows it in the case of lethal fetal anomaly. The health and wellbeing of a pregnant person is a valid reason to seek an abortion, and we should update the law to reflect that.

Second, under current law, those under 16 who are seeking abortion care must either obtain parental consent, or if that’s not an option, judicial consent. For those who do not wish to go through the trauma of judicial bypass or who are unable to get parental consent, the only other way to obtain abortion care in MA is to get married.

There is no other medical care in MA that requires a judge to confirm the maturity of a patient before they are allowed to consent to their health care. We must remove all judicial bypass requirements for abortion care in Massachusetts in order to truly move towards reproductive justice.

Funding and Financial Support

In addition to legal barriers, there are numerous other unnecessary obstacles to obtaining an abortion. In Massachusetts, abortions are not yet free for everyone — in fact, they can cost upwards of $600, and insurance companies are not required to cover them. Abortion funds are available to help people pay for their abortion and logistical expenses like travel, lodging, child care, doula, and translation services. You can find a full list of abortion funds at abortionfunds.org/funds.

The FY23 House Budget that was passed last month includes $500,000 in funding for the three abortion funds in Massachusetts. Direct financial support for abortions is the most powerful way to support people in need of abortion care right now, and I am proud that we have earmarked funding for that.

However, in the weeks since, it has become clear that Massachusetts will become a safe haven for those seeking abortion care should the SCOTUS decision come to fruition as we predict. We must funnel financial support into our abortion funds. I stand with the Senate in their proposal to increase funding for abortions from $500k to $2M.

Accessing abortion care is a human right. Abortions should be free, safe, and easily accessible for everybody.

See you in the streets.