Several local lawmakers expressed outrage at Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, eliminating federal constitutional protections to access abortion.

“There are those of us who remember a time before Roe v. Wade — when people were forced to go underground and put their lives on the line to access an abortion,” Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, a Democrat, said in a statement issued this afternoon. “Far too many of us know far too well that banning abortion doesn’t stop people from getting abortions, it just stops people from getting safe abortions. This ruling from the Supreme Court is unconscionable. Rather than protecting the sanctity of life, it will only endanger the lives of everyday people.”

Vitelli represents Sagadahoc County and the town of Dresden.

Brunswick’s state Sen. Mattie Daughtry said she fears for those who are marginalized in America and believes abortion is a human right, not a political decision.

“Abortion is health care, and health care is a human right,” Daughtry stated. “No health care decision is made easier or better by having a politician or judge get in the way. What the Supreme Court has done today will hurt people across our country, but especially those who are already marginalized — people of color, people from low-income households, and people trying to survive domestic abuse. I’m proud that our Legislature has done so much in the past few years to ensure Mainers have access to quality reproductive health care, regardless of how much money they make or where they live. Maine lawmakers will continue to do all we can to protect this right, even as those who sit on the highest court of the land fail us.”

Friday’s ruling has little immediate impact in Maine. As reported by the Portland Press Herald, state law, since 1993, has protected the right to an abortion until a fetus is considered viable outside the womb – between 22 to 24 weeks. Since an advanced copy of the Supreme Court ruling was leaked months ago, however, it has been a talking point for politicians up for re-election in November, including Gov. Janet Mills and her challenger, former Republican Gov. Paul LePage.

Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, while Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan voted to keep the decision in place.

The original case of Roe v. Wade began in 1970 when Norma McCorvey “Jane Roe” took federal action against Dallas County, Texas District Attorney Henry Wade. While McCorvey argued it was a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy any way at any time, the court disagreed.

Dr. Andy Mueller, chief executive of MaineHealth, Maine’s largest health care network which includes Brunswick’s Mid Coast Hospital, wrote Friday: “Access to the full continuum of reproductive care is a critical part” of its vision.

“MaineHealth’s respect for that freedom of choice extends to individuals for whom terminating a pregnancy is not an option, as well as to those care team members whose beliefs lead them to decline to participate in providing this service, something MaineHealth has made clear its exemptions to patient care policy,” Mueller said. “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to strike down the Roe v. Wade precedent guaranteeing a woman’s access to the full continuum of reproductive health services returns the nation to a place where safe, vital care for women is once again a topic of public debate. We urge our elected leaders not to interfere with critical patient-provider relationships by legislating care decisions that are best undertaken by women and their medical providers.”

Bishop Robert Deeley of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland released a statement celebrating Friday’s ruling.

“Today’s decision reaffirms the truth that every life is sacred, and it promotes protection for women and children from the grave injustice of abortion,” Deeley wrote. “We welcome the possibility of saving the lives of countless unborn children as well as sparing many women and families from pain.”

Maine 1st District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree called Friday’s ruling “catastrophic,” stating it was “enabled by Senate Republicans” who have spent years in an effort to stack the court with anti-abortion justices.

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