Statement from the Women Empowered Democratic Organization of Passaic County:

We thought it could never happen.

We thought a nightmare scenario could never become a reality.

We thought that of all the lines crossed in recent years, this would be one line that might be protected from incursion.

Yet, here we are, on the precipice of the Supreme Court overturning of Roe V. Wade, the likely upending of fifty years of settled precedent and broad acceptance by the American public of a woman’s right to make her own private and personal reproductive choices.

This isn’t just a for-or-against issue.  This is about personal choice.  This is about human rights.  And, this is about freedom. There isn’t a more personal issue than that of choice.  Should Roe v. Wade be overturned, it would represent not only a tremendous loss of personal freedom of choice for an individual woman, but it would gut the principles of privacy and self-determination afforded by the 14^th Amendment and would open the door to the government powers to regulate the most personal and private of freedoms.

Justice Alito, in his leaked majority opinion, states that any right granted by the 14^th Amendments ‘due process clause’ must be ‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition’ and states that ‘the right to an abortion has no such roots’. But for women, minorities, and many other groups, their rights haven’t always been deeply rooted, nor even guaranteed, and not permitted to exist until fairly recently. In the early 1800’s, women couldn’t vote, own land while married, go to a university, earn equal wages, enter many professions, or even report serious cases of domestic abuse. Women didn’t receive the right to vote until 1920 – only one hundred years ago – following the suffragette movement.  As Jessica Winter wrote in the New Yorker earlier this month, ‘in 1973 when Roe was decided, a married woman in the United States needed her husband’s permission to get a credit card, something that did not change until 1974. No state outlawed marital rape until 1977. Pregnancy was a fireable offense until 1978.’

For every right gained and codified, there has been a long history of struggle to achieve it.  And now, we are facing a different battle – to maintain our rights and the progress that has been made over the past several decades. The threat to reproductive freedom posed by the likely overturning of Roe V. Wade could start a domino effect in the knocking down of other hard-fought for personal freedoms and rights; among them, the use of contraceptives, same-sex marriage, and bi-racial marriage.

To those who’s faith informs them of their anti-choice stance, that is your right.  And that is why we have separation of church and state in our nation. You have the freedom to believe and practice your faith – but you can’t impose those beliefs on others and restrict their freedoms.  Doing so would violate the basic principles that our Founding Fathers set out to protect against – the separation of church and state was a paramount principle espoused by the founders and enshrined in the First Amendment.   In truth, there are many people who’s personal faith and beliefs may lead them to be personally against abortion, but who also secularly believe in the sanctity of personal freedom and choice.  Their personal faith may also lead them to be ‘pro-life’ in other aspects, as well: against capital punishment, supportive of measures to decrease deaths from gun violence, and supportive of pro-family measures such as paid family leave, ensuring livable wages, and improving maternal health outcomes.

We are truly blessed to live in New Jersey, where we likely will never have a complete reversal of Roe v. Wade, thanks to the strong leadership provided by our state Legislature and Governor Murphy.  Earlier this year, the Governor signed the ‘Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act’ into law, codifying the constitutional right of reproductive choice.  The Governor recently announced additional legislative proposals to further protect that right.  But as New Jersey seeks to protect the rights of women, we are also concerned for ALL women around the country who would be affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade who live in states that aren’t committed to protecting reproductive rights.

Women should not lose their universal human rights to personal healthcare decisions if, when, or because they become pregnant. Women’s rights are human rights – and in 2022, fifty years after Roe, we are fighting again to protect reproductive freedom and choice.

WOMEN EMPOWERED DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATION OF PASSAIC COUNTY