'More Needed' For NJ Abortion Access: Reactions to Supreme Court's Roe Reversal

NEW JERSEY — While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade won't directly impact the codified right to an abortion in New Jersey, some reproductive-rights advocates throughout the state say now is the time to expand access to the procedure in the Garden State.

The high court's 6-3 decision, which became official Friday, ends the constitutional right to abortion established in the 1973 Roe decision. With several states ready to ban or make it nearly possible to get an abortion, many seeking the procedure will likely look toward states like New Jersey where it remains legal.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey said "much more is needed" to expand abortion access in the state.

"The decision of when and whether to have a child is a fundamental human right, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade upends core autonomy and privacy rights in many parts of our country," said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha. "This moment calls for bold action; anything less is unacceptable. We urge lawmakers to immediately take action to ensure New Jersey expands access to abortion for all as nationwide bans loom."

New Jersey codified abortion's legality in January after the passage of the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act. But some advocates said it fell short, especially since the law doesn't require insurance providers to cover the medical procedure. Read more: Roe V. Wade Overturned: How Abortion Bans Will Impact New Jersey

After the Supreme Court's draft majority opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked to Politico in May, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that New Jersey would not cooperate with out-of-state investigations involving the criminalization of abortion.

He also proposed a series of measures that would require passage through the State Legislature, including a requirement for insurance plans to fully cover abortions, the expansion of potential abortion providers, legal protections against states that outlaw abortion and establishing a fund for medical professionals to provide abortions to uninsured or underinsured patients. Read more: Abortion Fully Covered By Insurance In Gov. Murphy's Proposed Laws

But six weeks after Murphy announced those proposals, none of them have gotten off the ground in the State Legislature, despite Democrats holding majorities in the State Assembly and Senate.

"While New Jersey planned for this eventuality by codifying a woman’s right to an abortion under state law," Murphy said Friday, "it is incumbent that we do more to fully secure reproductive rights and ensure access to reproductive health care without delay. Until we do, my Administration will take the necessary steps to fully protect both New Jersey’s women and those who come to our state to access the freedom which may no longer exist in their home state."

Lawmakers in the State Senate and Assembly introduced identical bills this week that would appropriate $20 million toward a Reproductive Health Access Fund, while also requiring health-insurance coverage to include the procedure, except for requested exemptions from religious employers.

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey called on lawmakers to pass the bills.

"Rights without access are meaningless," said Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, the chapter's vice president. "There is much more to do in New Jersey to ensure that everyone — regardless of income, insurance coverage, or immigration status — can access the care they need to make their own personal decisions about their bodies and their lives. That is why we call on our state Legislature to meet the urgency of this moment by passing S2918/A4350 without any delay."

Legislator Reactions

It's unclear whether state legislators will act quickly to expand abortion rights in the state. Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin did not address the matter in a statement about the Supreme Court's decision, but he said the state is "committed to ensuring that access to reproductive health care services remains legal, safe and accessible here in New Jersey."

"Overturning Roe v. Wade with today’s ruling by the Supreme Court, Trump’s conservative majority has undone decades of advocacy and legal precedent to empower state laws that are already taking their toll on countless women and families," Coughlin said. "Thankfully, New Jersey proactively codified Roe v. Wade in January.

“Standing by reproductive rights and a woman’s right to make decisions for herself, we will carefully evaluate the Court’s decision and any possible impact on New Jersey. We are nevertheless left appalled by this majority of right-wing extremist Justices and wholeheartedly support a woman’s right to choose.”

Asked whether Coughlin supports expanding abortion rights in New Jersey, a spokesperson for the Assembly speaker said his statement "stands for itself."

Many of the Democrats representing New Jersey condemned the Supreme Court's decision.

"With the end of Roe, 28 states will likely take action to prohibit abortion entirely; 13 states already have trigger bans in place," Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) said in a statement. "Many of those bans contain no exemptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother. Lives and livelihoods of women across the country are not safe."

Rep. Frank Pallone (NJ-6) added the following: "This is an unprecedented assault on reproductive health care, women’s ability to make their own health care decisions, and the constitutional right to privacy. It also deeply calls into question the Court’s capacity to make reasoned decisions grounded in precedent rather than ideologically motivated jurisprudence."

Not everyone in New Jersey's Congressional delegation felt that way though. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-4) — one of two Republicans representing New Jersey on Capitol Hill — has long advocated to ban abortion.

"For decades—right up to this very moment—abortion advocates have gone to extraordinary lengths to ignore, trivialize, and cover up the battered baby victim," Smith said in a statement. "They've aggressively fostered a culture of denial, disrespect, and bias against babies."

But the Supreme Court decision that will allow states to ban abortions will be deadly, says Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-9).

"Women will die because of what the Supreme Court has done, and our national divisions will badly worsen," Pascrell said. "The House has already voted to codify Roe into hard law. The Senate should move with urgency and do whatever it takes to pass it. We must never lose our urgency to erase this decision and reverse this dark day in America."

Efforts to codify abortion rights haven't passed in the Senate, where Democrats and Republicans each hold 50 seats. The best chance to pass the law in modern history arguably came in 2009, when Democrats held all three federal chambers, including a brief, filibuster-proof majority in Congress.

While running for president in 2007, Barack Obama declared, "The first thing I'd do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," which would have codified the right to abortions. But in April 2009, President Obama said passage of the act was "not the highest priority."