How Columbia, state organizations are reacting to Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade

What first was leaked in early May became official just over three weeks into June.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, in its final opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, overturned its nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision that made it a constitutional right for women to seek an abortion.

Missouri's trigger law almost immediately went into effect after the opinion was released, banning abortions in the state except when necessary to save the mother's life.

Steve Rupp, president of Missouri Right to Life, thanked God in a statement in which he shared his reaction to Friday's opinion.

"May He be with us as we continue to defend the most precious children in this new era," Rupp wrote. "Today we celebrate and then we go back to work to protect unborn babies and women from the abortion industry."

More: Mizzou law professor, statewide rights groups react to the Roe v. Wade draft opinion leak

Abortion rights groups like Pro-Choice Missouri are concerned about deepening poverty and worsening health outcomes for individuals who cannot access safe abortions.

"We know this decision is going to have immediate and devastating consequences. We also know that is exactly what the intention was," Mallory Schwarz, Pro-Choice Missouri executive director, said during an interview with the Tribune on Friday. "We are devastated but also emboldened because this didn't come out of nowhere."

Pro-Choice Missouri will never stop its work, Schwarz said.

"As more people are forced to flee to safe-haven states like Illinois, the Pro-Choice Missouri clinic escort program will be there to walk with them," Schwarz said, adding the organization worked to build up the program in anticipation of Friday's announcement. "Our provider partners in southern Illinois are expecting a 200% patient increase."

Pro-Choice Missouri is urging President Biden to declare a federal public health emergency, similar to what is declared because of a pandemic or natural disaster.

"The crisis of loss of abortion access in more than half of the states in the country will cause irreparable damage to our people and communities," Schwarz said. "We will continue to build power to rebuild abortion access in the state. ... It is going to take sustained action and pressure over time."

Columbia-based marketing agency Choose Life Marketing has been encouraging the public to find ways to support women after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

"We will all need to step it up and provide even more support for women facing unexpected pregnancies," the agency wrote in a recent social media post. "It takes a village, and we can work together to make sure women have the resources and support necessary to say 'yes' to life."

The agency on Friday described the reversal of Roe as a "tremendous victory for life."

The group is "praying for pregnancy centers who now face heightened scrutiny and threats," Choose Life wrote in a statement. "Please join us in praying for peace, protection for pregnancy center staff and volunteers, and that more women than ever would find comfort and support at life-affirming centers."

The decision Friday was not surprising for Rigel Oliveri, the Isabelle Wade and Paul C. Lyda Professor of Law at the University of Missouri. This was the direction the court was heading after the installation of Amy Coney Barrett as an associate justice following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she said.

Trigger laws, whether they ban abortion rights or protect them, are going into effect, Oliveri added.

"The states that have committed to outlawing the procedure will do so, and states that have committed to keeping it legal will do so," she said. "That is where things will stand. The main way the needle might move is at state elections. They will have control over what the law will be."

More: 'This is more important': Why Jodie Ashby marched for abortion rights after MU graduation ceremony

So what is next for the Supreme Court after reversing its Roe v. Wade decision?

Further reversals of privacy rights not explicitly enumerated in the U.S. Constitution are possible, Oliveri said.

"The doctrine upon which Roe was based was substantive due process," Oliveri said.

This is what the court uses to articulate various constitutional rights, even though they are not spelled out in the Constitution, she said.

Substantive due process "has always been a contentious doctrine," Oliveri said. "It has always had its detractors. It is not as strong as you might think it is."

A concurring opinion from Associate Justice Clarence Thomas lays out some rights the Supreme Court may reconsider in the future, she noted.

"All sorts of rights we have come to take for granted might be on the chopping block," Oliveri said. "It's hard to say (which ones) exactly. The court, in Dobbs, tried to be very careful to say its reasoning only applied to abortion. Much of its reasoning could apply to other rights recognized in the last 40 to 50 years through substantive due process."

Charles Dunlap covers courts, public safety and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: State, local agencies react to Roe v. Wade reversal on abortion