"Dystopian" "Devastating" "Terribly Wrong": Massachusetts politicians furious after Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

Governor Charlie Baker signed an executive order Friday to protect access to reproductive health care services in Massachusetts.

"I am deeply disappointed in today's decision by the Supreme Court which will have major consequences for women across the country who live in states with limited access to reproductive health care services. The Commonwealth has long been a leader in protecting a woman's right to choose and access to reproductive health services, while other states have criminalized or otherwise restricted access," Baker said in a statement. "This executive order will further preserve that right and protect reproductive health care providers who serve out of state residents. In light of the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v Wade, it is especially important to ensure that Massachusetts providers can continue to provide reproductive health care services without concern that the laws of other states may be used to interfere with those services or sanction them for providing services that are lawful in the Commonwealth."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a statement saying:

"Six radical Supreme Court Justices have overturned nearly 50 years of precedent, stripping away the constitutional right to an abortion. After decades of scheming, Republican politicians have finally forced their unpopular agenda on the rest of America. They have decided that the government – not the person who is pregnant – should make a private health care decision and deny women the right to control their own bodies and futures. But these extremists will not have the final word. Democrats have tools to fight back, from legislation in Congress to executive orders from the President to initiatives at the state and local level – we just need to use them. We are angry – angry and determined. We will not go back. Not now. Not ever."  

Sen. Ed Markey released a statement saying: 

"What we have feared most has come to pass. A stolen, illegitimate, and far-right majority on the Supreme Court has destroyed nearly fifty years of precedent guaranteeing the constitutional right to an abortion. The overturning of Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood is an egregious and overtly political act that jeopardizes the health, safety, and freedom of millions of Americans.

"Thirteen states with 'trigger laws' will now impose radical and unjust bans on abortion. Criminalizing abortion won't stop abortion, it will only make it dangerous. Congress must do its part and respond to these affronts to reproductive freedom by passing the Women's Health and Protection Act and codifying Roe into law – even if we must abolish the filibuster to do so.

"I once again ask my Senate colleagues, what other judicial outrage must we endure from the illegitimate Supreme Court majority before we act? The most fundamental rights we hold dear as Americans are at stake. The right to privacy is at stake. The right to use contraception is at stake. The right to marry who you love is at stake. And with this decision, the very lives of those seeking to exercise their right to reproductive freedom are at stake. 

"We must act now and expand the Supreme Court to bring balance to the bench and restore its legitimacy in the eyes of the American people."

Rep. Ayanna Pressley released a statement saying: 

"Today is a dark day in our nation's history and this decision is a devastating confirmation of what Black and brown reproductive justice organizers have been sounding the alarms about for years: this Court will stop at nothing to strip away our reproductive freedom and our fundamental human right to bodily autonomy.

"By obliterating the right to abortion across the nation, this extreme decision will push legal abortion care out of reach for our most vulnerable and exacerbate multiple public health crises, like the Black maternal mortality crisis. Let me be clear: by restricting abortion access, this Court is putting the health of the most vulnerable people at risk and we must use every tool, at every level of government, to protect reproductive rights and save lives.

"President Biden must recognize this as the public health emergency that it is and commit to utilizing every executive authority necessary to protect abortion access, including expanding access to medication abortion and over-the-counter-birth control, and protect the safety of those seeking and providing abortion care. States including Massachusetts have taken steps to become havens for those seeking necessary abortion care and I encourage other states to follow suit.

"Abortion care is still legal in Massachusetts, and I urge residents to continue seeking care if they need it. To the millions of people whose rights have been stolen overnight due to the cruelty and callousness of this extreme Supreme Court, know that this fight is not over. The Senate must abolish the filibuster and pass the Women's Health Protection Act into law. We must expand the court to restore its integrity. I won't stop fighting for policies and budgets that affirm abortion care as the fundamental human right that it is."

Representative Katherine Clark tweeted:

"Overturning the right to an abortion brings us to the horrifying reality of government-mandated pregnancy – we are now living in a dystopian nightmare. Forced pregnancy is morally abhorrent, and this decision will set women back decades. But we are not powerless. We will fight." 

Rep. Lori Trahan released a statement saying: 

"The consequences of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe are devastating. Millions of women are losing access to safe, legal abortion care immediately because of anti-abortion state laws taking effect now that the opinion is official. Without any other option, many will risk their lives seeking out care through unsafe procedures."

That's not the America we should want any of our daughters to grow up in, but it's going to get worse if anti-choice extremists have their way. They've been working toward this decision for decades, and they're already plotting to override state laws like the Roe Act so it's illegal for every woman in America to control our own bodies."

The fight for abortion rights continues, and it's one our daughters can't afford for us to lose."

Rep. Seth Moulton tweeted: 

"This decision takes control of women's bodies away from them and gives it to politicians. It is terribly wrong." 

In an interview with CBS Boston, Moulton said it's "a dark day in American history."

"We knew this was coming, but that doesn't make it any less painful, less enraging, or less terrifying for the tens of millions of people who stand to lose access to basic, life-saving care. Today, for the first time ever, the Court has taken away a constitutional right – a right that has been recognized for nearly half a century. But in Massachusetts and other states where abortion will remain legal and accessible, we'll do everything we can to ensure patients from across the country can receive needed care and to support and protect our providers who are offering that care. The majority of Americans want to keep abortion safe and legal, and I'm calling on Congress to do just that by codifying Roe."  

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu released a statement saying: 

"Right-wing justices, emboldened by a fringe minority, are endangering lives by stripping away basic reproductive rights. This cannot & will not stand. In Boston we will never stop fighting -- for our freedoms & for each other. This moment does not belong to the far right. It belongs to us and, like our bodies, we decide what to do with it. So, together, let's meet this moment with all the urgency and courage it demands."