Triangle faith leaders, community organizers react to end of Roe v. Wade
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade Friday morning, people and groups across North Carolina spoke out in reaction to the end of federal protection of abortion as a constitutional right.
Here’s how people have reacted so far:
Jillian Riley, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic in North Carolina, said abortion access in the state is “hanging by a thread.”
“The Supreme Court has given politicians broad authority to control what we do with our bodies, sending the message that we can no longer be trusted to determine the course of our own lives.”
Tami Fitzgerald, the executive director of the North Carolina Values Coalition, said the decision was “a major victory for unborn children and their mothers” and called on members of the N.C. General Assembly to block abortion protection bills at the state level.
“In North Carolina, our work is only beginning,” Fitzgerald said. “Our laws should recognize that life is a human right.”
According to its website, NCVC is a non-partisan network of residents advocating for “pro-family positions.”
Maria Gonzalez, policy advocate manager for El Pueblo, a nonprofit specializing in leadership development for Latinx residents of Wake County, said the decision could be especially harmful to Wake’s Latinx immigrant population and other marginalized groups.
“In a country where undocumented people, low-income people, LGBTQ people, non-English speaking people already face increased barriers to accessing safe and quality healthcare, politicians, judges, lawmakers, make the risks they face even higher,” Gonzalez said.
Pro-Choice North Carolina called the decision a “setback” and said the upcoming November election would be important in determining the future of abortion rights in the state.
“Today’s ruling is devastating, but it is not the end of our fight for reproductive freedom in North Carolina,” organization leaders wrote in a press release.
For the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, the decision to re-establish abortion as a state issue represents a civil rights victory that answers decades of prayers but will continue to require advocacy, Deacon Josh Klickman told The N&O.
“We see this as promotion of civil rights, allowing states to make the decision to protect the unborn,” Klickman said. “That is some reason to celebrate when you have those kind of victories, but will violence, murder, suicide, spousal murders, domestic violence, will that continue even after policy? Yes. So abortion will continue.”
Klickman said the diocese will continue to focus on supporting women who do not want to contend with the option to seek abortion by backing maternity homes and other pregnancy support organizations.
Pastor Nancy Petty of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, said the use of Christian theology as a basis for the decision is “sinful.”
“The way in which these so-called Christian justices have used their Christian faith … is a grave sin that they are committing.”
“They will pick and choose whatever they want out of their Christian faith to defend this action. And it is not defendable,” she told the N&O. “Christians particularly need to really examine, is it their faith that they’re promoting and proclaiming, or is it their politics?”
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church will host a “service of lamentation and a call to action” Monday at 7 p.m. in response to the decision.
“We’ll do what we always do,” Petty said. “This is a justice issue, and there are a lot of people of faith who see it as a justice issue. So we will organize and we will do what we can to right this wrong.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina is “very disappointed” in the decision, said Kristie Puckett-Williams, deputy director for engagement and mobilization. She said the ACLU will continue to fight for patients who continue to “rely on abortion care.”
“The ability for a person to make a decision about their own health and future is a fundamental human right that’s been enshrined in our constitution,” she said. “The Supreme Court made a decision that will eliminate that right for millions of people…. We are not backing down, and neither should the people.”
The North Carolina Council of Churches, a collection of statewide faith leaders from 18 denominations, has supported reproductive choice since 1970, said executive director Rev. Jennifer Copeland.
“We treat it as something between the patient and her healthcare provider,” Copeland said. “It really wasn’t a space for legislators to intervene with what I would say are outdated and irresponsible faith claims that have no bearing on the reality of the situation.”
She said the Council feels the decision will “shackle” women with financial hardship, discriminatory practices and blocked access to health care — also harming those who choose to carry their pregnancies to full term.
“I have a 26-year-old daughter,” Copeland said. “To see that now, 50 years later, my 26-year-old daughter has fewer rights around reproductive choice than I had when I was 26? We are going backward and that is unconscionable.”
The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, a national nonprofit that represents more than 1,600 pregnancy centers, including Birthchoice in Raleigh, celebrated the ruling in a Friday press release.
“Today we join millions of pro-life Americans who are praising God because our goal is to achieve an abortion-free America by building a culture of life,” NIFLA President Thomas Glessner said, adding that the work of the organization’s network of pregnancy centers will be “more critical than ever as they provide women with the all life-affirming resources they need.”
Tonya Nelson, CEO of Hand of Hope Raleigh/Your Choice Pregnancy Clinic, also celebrated the end of Roe v. Wade.
“We are ecstatic,” she said. “It is an answer to 50 years worth of prayers. So we’re tickled.”
Nelson added that Hand of Hope anticipates getting busier in the wake of the decision, and plans to “do everything we can ... to make sure that tiny little babies are protected.”
Dr. John Baker, an obstetrician-gynecologist at abortion provider North Durham Women’s Health, said he feels fortunate to be practicing in North Carolina. Along with Virginia, the state did not join most of its neighbors in enacting “trigger laws” meant to enact abortion bans immediately following the ruling.
“We will help out folks in other states as best we can when the time comes,” Baker told The N&O. “We’ll be able to maintain the status quo for at least a while.”
Todd Unzicker, the executive director-treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, also feels fortunate – but he’s encouraged by the ruling, which he feels affirms the value of life “from womb to tomb”.
He says the Convention views its anti-abortion work as multifaceted, linking the advocacy to other programs like prenatal care and food desert nutrition aid.
“People say now is the time for us to step up,” Unzicker said. “We look at this as a great time for us to shine.”
Lisa Yebuah, lead pastor of the Southeast Raleigh Table within the United Methodist Church, lamented the decision.
“I feel a sense of deep sadness … mixed with some holy anger,” she said. “We’re committed to people’s flourishing, and this actually is an affront to flourishing.”
But she added that the fear some feel in reaction to the ruling “might move us to tether ourselves to right action. Our fear might tether us to (self)-examination, not just personally, but collectively.”
No comment
The following declined to comment on the ruling:
▪ LifeTree, described on its website as a Christian educational ministry opposing abortion.
▪ The Hallmark Women’s Center, an abortion provider with two locations in Fayetteville and Winston-Salem.
▪ A Preferred Women’s Health Center, an abortion provider, with locations in Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta and Augusta, Ga.
This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 1:16 PM.
