Abortion rights backers express hurt, anger over Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade; diocese praises decision
GREEN BAY - Just a few hours after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a group of women, members of the LGBTQ community, and Planned Parenthood advocates gathered Friday at Kavarna Coffeehouse on Broadway to process the news.
Stacey Burkhart of Pulaski, artist and founder of three organizations in downtown Green Bay, said she felt the need to get out of the house when she saw the news and made the 30-minute drive to downtown Green Bay.
"To facilitate something like this where people can come and know that they’re not alone, that they’re not the only ones feeling the way they are right now, is very important," Burkhart said.
"Today is just not a day to feel very great," Burkhart said. "And I think to dismiss the pain, the hurt, the anger, would be to deny who we are as individuals.”
Meanwhile, a few miles away at the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay's campus in Allouez, the Very Rev. John Girotti held a news conference praising the Supreme Court's decision for "supporting the right to be born and the right to live."
Girotti told reporters he hopes the momentum from the Supreme Court decision continues and the current generation actively rejects abortions.
"As a country we must get to a point where every life is respected no matter what it looks like, how it comes about, where the person lives, is born or unborn," he said.
Bishop David L. Ricken said that despite the decision, there's still work to do. “While the announcement by the Supreme Court is met with gratitude from all of us who have been dedicated to protecting the lives of children in the womb, we know that there is still much work to be done, so that all life, in every stage, might be reverenced and protected,” Ricken said in a news release.
The court's decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, a landmark ruling that made abortion legal for the past 50 years, puts back into effect an 1849 state law banning abortions in Wisconsin except when saving the life of the mother.
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It's a decision that comes from the minority, Burkart said. A Marquette University Law School Poll in October showed 61% of Wisconsin voters said abortion should be legal in all or most cases and 34% said it should be illegal in all or most cases.
Burkhart added that although she has always been a supporter of abortion rights, she wasn't as actively vocal about them because she didn't want to hurt loved ones with whom she didn't share the same opinion or religious dogma.
But that changed Friday. "It just hits you. And you press that green light, and you step inside something incredibly uncomfortable because you know that reaching beyond your comfort zone is what is going to facilitate that change."
Part of her motivation is that she's mourning and fighting for the future of her three daughters, a 10-year old and 7-year old twins, while also empowering them to fight alongside her.
Steph Guzman, a local educator and member of the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities, also went to the gathering after hearing the news. She said that she was not only in shock, but also feared for what this decision portends for the rights of the LGBTQ community and people of color in the future.
"It's very hard to process the news, because I don't think people really understand how much control has been put over the people," Guzman said.
In addition to being a member of the LGBTQ community and a person of color, Guzman said she is also a person of faith. Her parents were born and raised Catholic in Mexico, and while she has had an internal fight with religion, she still maintains Christian values.
“I am a person of faith, but I choose to let people choose their lives, that is what I was taught: not to judge and to help the person next to you,” Guzman said.
“They taught me in my religion that God is love. So love would be to support each other, and if we’re not going to help each other, at least not hurt each other," she said.
"And this hurts people."
Anne Tretinyak, executive director for Vida, a parenting help and medical clinic, told reporters at the same press conference that the U.S. Supreme Court decision only emphasized the need for Vida services.
"If you are a woman who is facing an unexpected pregnancy, (Vida) is here, we can help and we want to listen to your story," she said.
Contact Kelly Smits at (920) 431-3632 or ksmits@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kellymsmits.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay abortion rights activists, opponents react to Roe overturned
