Maine reacts after Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade

Penelope Overton, Portland Press Herald, Maine
·2 min read

Jun. 24—The U.S. Supreme Court's announcement that it has voted to overturn the landmark 1973 abortion rights case Roe v. Wade sent shockwaves through Maine Friday morning.

The decision was expected after a draft opinion written by conservative justice Samuel Alito was leaked last month. The ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which was posted to the court's website at 10:10 a.m., struck down the nearly 50-year legal precedent set by Roe, causing abortion providers across the country, including Maine, to protest this judicial setback.

"It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives," said Alito, who wrote the majority opinion.

In an interview last week, Nicole Clegg, the executive director of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said the organization has been preparing for the decision for months, preparing for an influx of out-of-state abortion patients and abortion protesters, too.

"There's no way around it, the overturn of Roe v. Wade is a terrible blow, Maine is not going to lose access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion," Clegg said. "But it's going to greatly change the national landscape, and as a result, we're going to feel it here, too."

In Maine, the right to abortion up until a fetus is considered viable outside the womb is codified in state law, signed by Republican Gov. John McKernan 20 years after Roe v. Wade — after the Supreme Court issued another ruling that gave states more leeway to pass abortion restrictions.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Friday called the Supreme Court ruling an assault on women's rights and on reproductive freedom that will do nothing to actually stop abortion across the country. She said it would only make the abortions that do take place less safe. But she vowed to protect abortion rights in Maine.

"In Maine, I will defend the right to reproductive health care with everything I have," Mills said. "I pledge to the people of Maine that, so long as I am Governor, my veto pen will stand in the way of any effort to undermine, rollback, or outright eliminate the right to safe and legal abortion in Maine."

This story will be updated.