Erie residents react to leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade

During her 2020 run for Congress, Kristy Gnibus made it clear that she strongly supported abortion rights and protecting a woman’s right to choose.

Her campaign was supported by Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund, the nonprofit political arm of the worldwide reproductive health care provider.

Her personal stance on abortion rights is a key reason why Politico’s report Monday — indicating that a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion suggests the high court is poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide — "is very emotional for me," she said.

“My initial reaction to that report is concern,” said Gnibus, a Democrat from Erie who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly of Butler in 2020 for the 16th District U.S. House seat. “Having the ability to choose is part of the equality movement for women.

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“I think that what people forget is that abortions are going to happen whether they’re legal or not, so shutting down Roe v. Wade, if it happens, is going to harm the poor and working class the most,” said Gnibus, a teacher, cancer survivor and the single mother of two daughters. “This is certainly not the direction I want this country to go in for my two girls. It’s a huge concern. And it shows how important our upcoming elections are.”

The Supreme Court verified on Tuesday the authenticity of the leaked opinion, but said the decision is not final.

A decision to overrule Roe would likely lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states and could have a massive impact on this year’s midterm elections.

Verified:Supreme Court verifies authenticity of leaked opinion in abortion case but says decision not final

Rhonda Matthews, a professor of politics at Edinboro University, said that if the draft opinion accurately reflects the Supreme Court’s final decision, “it is a through line in American history. It represents the history of a nation that has consistently taken away the rights of certain people in the nation.

“There is a difference between real culture and ideal culture,” Matthews said. “The reality is that freedom and justice for all and access to rights has only come, for the vast majority of people in this country, at the end of some kind of struggle.”

She added: “I don’t think there’s any question that if this stands, there will be a rush by many states to completely return the medical procedure of abortion to illegal status.”

Matthews also pointed out that Roe v. Wade, at its core, was a decision about privacy.

If it is overturned, Matthews said, "it opens the door to stripping away other rights based on privacy."

Members of the Erie organizing committee of the Democratic Socialists of America and the local social justice group Erie County United plan an abortion rights event in Perry Square, across the street from Erie's federal courthouse, Tuesday at 5 p.m.

More:Op-Ed: We must protect abortion access in Pennsylvania

Abortion rights opponents remain wary

Abortion rights opponents like Tim Broderick, while excited about the draft ruling, voiced skepticism.

"I hope it's an indication of what the court is going to do," Broderick said, "but a leaked draft like this is extremely unusual."

Broderick, who is the executive director of People for Life, a social welfare group in Erie County that opposes abortion rights, said he is preparing for a more "mixed decision" from the court and insisted expectations shouldn't be raised.

"It's too early to call victory on this," he said. "There's going to be a lot of buzz but I think we'll save the reaction for the actual court decision."

The wariness appeared to be shared by the Catholic Diocese of Erie, which released the following statement Tuesday to the Erie Times-News: "The Catholic Church’s position on abortion has always been clear. The Diocese of Erie has no comment on what appears to be a leaked draft of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding Dobbs v. Jackson."

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization is a pending Supreme Court case involving a 2018 Mississippi state law that banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and is considered a direct challenge to Roe.

Others like U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly voiced optimism, releasing a statement Tuesday that called the potential decision a "major victory for the pro-life movement."

"If the reports are true about the upcoming decision, then the marches, the speeches, the standing, the dedication, the faith and the prayers did avail much for a greater moral good," Kelly said. "I’ve spent many years advocating for the unborn and the principle that abortion laws should be enacted by the people’s elected representatives, not activist Justices."

Kelly, a Republican who represents Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Lawrence and a portion of Butler County, where he resides, said he will continue to advance his legislation — the Heartbeat Protection Act — through Congress. The bill would prohibit abortions when an unborn child's heartbeat is detected, according to Kelly.

"I also want to speak to those who have had abortions and struggle with their decision: you should know that forgiveness and grace — for yourself and others — will help heal those emotional wounds," Kelly continued in his statement. "This decision is not another tool to divide us, but should be one that brings us together under the banner of protecting life for all."

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey released a statement Tuesday, saying if the draft opinion becomes the final opinion of the court, he would have "serious concerns about what overturning almost 50 years of legal precedent will mean for women in states passing near or total bans on abortion."

"Congress should be working to reduce the number of abortions and unintended pregnancies and doing much more to support women and families," said Casey, a Democrat.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case before its term ends in late June or early July.

The draft opinion in effect states there is no constitutional right to abortion services and would allow individual states to more heavily regulate or outright ban the procedure.

The leaked draft document — first reported by Politico — is an extremely rare breach of the Supreme Court's highly secretive deliberation process.

Supreme Court draft opinion:Leaks are rare

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

Contact A.J. Rao at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie reacts: is U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn abortion rights?