SCOTUS ruling sparks protests across the North Shore
Jun. 25—Hundreds of people took part in protests around the North Shore on Friday in response to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion law.
Protests were held locally in Salem, Beverly and Swampscott. The rally in Beverly included an incident in which abortion-rights protesters confronted a woman carrying a "Life" sign. One of the protesters grabbed the sign out of the woman's hands, ripped it up and threw it to the ground.
The Beverly rally took place on Elliott Street outside the Cummings Center, where an anti-abortion group has staged stand-outs for years to protest an abortion clinic in the Cummings Center. An abortion-rights group called Stand Up For Reproductive Rights North Shore organized Friday's rally for the same location, in response to the Supreme Court's ruling.
"Everybody's feeling very upset and hopeless," said Alicia Mastrorio, a Beverly resident who started Stand Up for Reproductive Rights North Shore. "I felt like I got punched in the stomach. I have two young daughters and my heart just broke."
While about 100 abortion-rights protesters stood on one side of the Cummings Center entrance, about 30 members of the 40 Days For Life Beverly group stood on the other. After the confrontation over the sign, two Beverly police officers showed up and urged the two sides to remain on opposite sides of the entrance.
John Kwiatek, a Beverly resident who is the coordinator of 40 Days For Life Beverly, said the group was "very thankful" for the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe v. Wade.
"Today's decision affirms that the unborn has humanity and deserves a right to life," Kwiatek said.
Kate Porter, an abortion-rights protester from Beverly, said she understood the perspective of the anti-abortion group because her mother is a member. Porter went out of her way to speak with the woman who had the sign ripped out of her hands.
"They all do it with good intentions," Porter said. "It's them literally doing what they believe is right. I wish there was more of a middle ground."
In Salem, about 80 people gathered on Salem Common for a rally organized through social media by Jen Hough and Katie Rogers, two members of the Marblehead Moms Facebook page. Several people stepped forward to speak, many of them expressing anger and frustration at the decision.
"We're entering a new era," said Dr. Kristin Darden, who lives in Salem. "I told my son there's a time and a place for profanity. This is the time and this is that place."
One woman who got up to speak was wearing a coat hanger around her neck, a symbol of the dangerous methods used to terminate unwanted pregnancies before abortions were legalized. Others held signs such as "Keep your rosaries off my ovaries" and "This is not the end of abortion, only safe abortions."
Kat Safreed, of Peabody, urged the crowd to reach out to help people from other states where abortions will be outlawed quickly in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision. Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday signed an executive order saying he will protect reproductive health care providers in Massachusetts who serve out-of-state residents.
"Offer a couch, offer assistance," Safreed said. "I have friends and family in Ohio and West Virginia and I'm scared to death for them."
"We're very fortunate to live here in Massachusetts where we still have a right to choose," Hough said.
Hough and others urged the crowd to continue to speak out and to support abortion-rights candidates.
"We need to keep doing this," Hough said. "We're not going to stop here."
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
