Black women say the overturn of Roe v. Wade will hurt low income communities

Watching the news Friday morning, Cadenna Peavy shook with anger. She could not believe that the United States Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, a decision that ensured American women's reproductive rights for the past five decades.

"I was so mad. I wanted to throw the TV to the floor," said Peavy who is 53 and lives in Paterson.

When Peavy was 14, she was raped. She was able to obtain a legal abortion. Today, she worries about the health and safety of women who will need services.

"I'm angry but I'm also sad," Peavy said. "We have come so far. It's like a slap in the face."

Access and rights: How NJ reacted to the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion access

Doctors in fear: Abortion providers in NJ worry they will face more protests after Supreme Court ruling

With the official reversal of Roe v. Wade, in the 6-3 decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the constitutional right to abortion upheld for a half century no longer exists. The decision means that abortion rights will be halted in nearly half of the states within the week.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and New Jersey civil rights organizations say the decision will severely impact Black women.

Reproductive rights are civil rights, said Zellie Imani, president of Black Lives Matter Paterson.

"We are living in a moment where rights won for marginalized groups are being attacked and stripped away," Imani said. "Instead of America becoming safer for marginalized groups, it is becoming less so."

Peavy, a former social worker who is disabled, recalls working with minority women who just didn't have the means to support children. Families end up struggling and living in dangerous conditions, she said.

More: Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will not change abortion access in NJ

More: How NJ groups will support abortion rights following the overturning of Roe v. Wade

Black women have abortions at a rate nearly four times that of white women, according to National Center for Technology Information. In 2020, the Black maternal death rate was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“There is no denying the fact that this is a direct attack on all women, and Black women stand to be disproportionately impacted by the court’s egregious assault on basic human rights,” Janette McCarthy Wallace, general counsel for NAACP, said in a statement.

Paterson resident Kelley Moss-Brown was emotional Friday as she learned about the ruling. She thought back to her youth when she had an abortion.

She also went with a friend to an abortion clinic in Englewood and was taunted by protesters. That was when abortion doctors were being targeted, Moss-Brown said. Her friend was so terrified that she did not go through with the abortion, and had a baby she could not care for. She turned to her mother for help, Moss-Brown said.

"Black women are in situations where they don't have financial resources to take care of the baby," said Moss-Brown, 54.

Moss-Brown said some of her relatives in North Carolina used hangers to induce abortions. She also recalls when babies were dropped off in unknown places.

"People should have the right to choose. This is about safety," said Moss-Brown, who is a pastor at Heart of Hannah Women's Center in Paterson.

The decision will disproportionately affect Black and brown women, especially in areas where services are banned, said Flo Coulson, 34, a Paterson resident who works for a labor union.

"It's not that easy for us," Coulson said. "Everything is disproportionately against minorities."

While the Supreme Court decision is devastating, it's not unexpected, said Larry Hamm, chairman of People's Organization for Progress in Newark. Lower income women will be the most affected as they just don't have the resources, he said.

Reproductive rights are rights every woman should have, he said, adding that it's critical to rally and to vote in November.

"They want to unravel 90 years of social progress," Hamm said of the U.S. Supreme Court. "Women and civil rights are in their crosshairs."

Mary Chao 趙 慶 華 covers the Asian community and real estate for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news out of North Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: mchao@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Roe v. Wade overturn will hurt Black, low income women