NAPD Statement on the overturning of Roe v. Wade

NAPD membership is preparing for the onslaught of prosecutions of women, their families and supporters as well as health care providers in light of the Supreme Court’s decision today to eliminate the constitutional right to obtain an abortion, casting aside 49 years of precedent that began with Roe v. Wade. The decision by Justice Samuel Alito will set off a seismic shift in reproductive rights across the United States. It will allow states to ban abortion, and experts expect about half the states to do so. In one of the most anticipated rulings in decades, the court overturned Roe, which first declared a constitutional right to abortion in 1973, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which re-affirmed that right in 1992. The decision was six to three, with Chief Justice Roberts joining in the result, but not the opinion by Justice Alito.

The poor, and people of color are most likely going to feel the brunt of this decision – but not just in seeking abortions. Many of the bills passed/triggered by this decision in approximately half of the states that will outlaw abortion include defining a fetus as a person. This opens the way to more prosecutions for miscarriages, up to and including charging them with murder.

NAPD stands ready to defend against this onslaught and decry this decision.