Abilene reactions to Supreme Court abortion leak range from hope to resolve

A leaked Supreme Court opinion that seems to show the largely conservative court's desire to completely overturn Roe v. Wade has people on both sides of the issue talking

That includes those concerned with the ongoing "sanctuary city for the unborn" push here.

Abilene City Council Place 6 candidate Charles Byrn said the leak, which shows an early draft of a majority opinion favoring overturning Roe, is unprecedented, but shouldn't take steam away from the local effort to ban abortion in Abilene via a sweeping 18-page ordinance.

Byrn, who has received substantial financial support in his bid for council from Texas Right to Life, stated that while the draft had been labeled authentic, it isn't the final say.

"It's not a victory until the court gives their full opinion and votes," he said.

The leak, he said, is politically-motivated, he said, in Byrn's opinion to "focus on the mid-terms."

"If they overturn Roe v. Wade, it will be up to the states," Byrn said on the wider topic of abortion rights. "As of now, we don't know what the outcome will be. ... I believe that we should move forward with sanctuary cities because we don't have the full view of the court at this moment."

Mark Lee Dickson of Right to Life of East Texas, the driving force behind Abilene's proposed ordinance and those passed in other cities, said the opinion shows "Roe v. Wade’s days are numbered."

But in Dickson's estimation, even the high court's apparent yen to overturn Roe is "far from enough" in not ending abortion coast to coast.

If Roe does fall, cities in Texas with the most protections for unborn children will be those which have the sanctuary cities for the unborn ordinances on their books, he argued, such ordinances placing a "level of protection which is even greater than the protections which are found in the Texas pre-Roe v. Wade anti-abortion statutes, the Texas Heartbeat Act, and Texas Trigger Ban."

"The fact that Roe v. Wade is likely to be overturned soon should not cause cities to slow down in their consideration of outlawing abortion," he said. "Now is the time we go full force ahead and make sure every one of our cities have the greatest level of protection possible against the murder of unborn children by abortion."

Dickson, who also believed the leak to be politically-motivated, said he is "expecting our Supreme Court justices to stand their ground and to not be influenced or intimidated by public opinion."

He added he does not see the issue of abortion as red versus blue.

"Both in Lubbock and in Abilene, there were many registered Democrats who signed the petition to outlaw abortion in their cities," he said.

Local party leaders weigh in

► ELIZABETH SMYSER, DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRWOMAN:

Smyser the draft opinion "threatens to strip women of their fundamental and hard won rights that we have exercised for over the last 50 years."

The court's opinion ties directly into the ongoing sanctuary city question, she said, with portions of the local ordinance set to trigger if Roe falls.

Smyser said "far-right political and extremist religious groups that have fueled the anti-abortion movement have stooped to every low they could think of to gain more power for themselves rather than actually help women and their families."

"If they wanted to stop abortions, their energy would have been directed to fighting the issues that make abortion necessary and providing women and girls with the resources they need to support themselves and their families through the difficult and complicated situations they face," she said.

Abortions, Smyser said, will always be available to wealthier women, who will do so "no matter the faith or opinion they publicly proclaim."

"Poor women, millions of poor women and pregnant people, will be left in dire situations, caught between a rock and a hard place," she said, leading to potentially desperate decisions with tragic consequences "because 'the least of these' will be denied their constitutional right to a safe and necessary medical procedure."

As to the leak itself, Smyser said faith in the court as a "nonpartisan and respectable institution has waned in recent years," due to political maneuvering.

"I am hopeful that it was perhaps someone friendly to women and abortion advocates leaked the document to warn and prepare us of the horror that may soon come," she said.

► CHRIS CARNOHAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN:

Carnohan said it seems the minds of most regarding abortion have been made up long ago, though he expected more people to grow to "see how an innocent third party is killed before ever taking his or her first breath."

"We pro-lifers earnestly stand for the simple proposition that that overrules the mother’s interests in doing what she wants or deems best, be that with a physician’s advice and counsel or not," he said. "Who speaks for that unique, new life within her, with 50% different genes? Like suicide, permanent solutions to temporary problems are a very poor choice.  And pregnancy is still only temporary while intentionally inflicting death is the very definition of permanence."

The rapidly-conformed validity of the draft opinion now puts judges in a hard spot, he said, especially if they later are shown to have changed their mind in the final opinion.

"The damage to their standing (and) respectability will be comparable to the damage this leak does to the Supreme Court," he said, adding justices should not succumb to political pressure.

The leak, in Carnohan's opinion, is motivated by those who are pro-abortion and is also a way to change the news cycle away from topics potentially hurtful to the Biden administration, such as gas prices, inflation and border issues.

"The U.S. Constitution does not mention (abortion), while it does enumerate many other rights, including the right of the people and the states to handle all matters not specifically delegated to the federal government," he said "... We will all be better off living under that Constitution instead of twisting it to meet our often selfish preferences."

Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. 

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Reactions to Supreme Court abortion leak range from hope to resolve