Roe V. Wade: Five Things To Know In New Jersey

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square, The Center Square New Jersey

June 27, 2022

(The Center Square) – New Jersey’s Legislature is yet to take up a trio of bills from Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, all of which gained urgency following Friday’s historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
The nation’s high court overturned the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, sending control of abortion bans back to the states.

In the Garden State:

• Bill proposals from the governor include expanding which medical providers can perform the most common type of abortion; creating a fund enabling abortions to be performed by advanced practice registered nurses, physician’s assistants, and certified nurse midwives; putting insurance providers on the hook to pay for abortions without cost-sharing or out-of-pocket expense.

• In reaction to the ruling Murphy said, “While New Jersey planned for this eventuality by codifying a woman’s right to an abortion under state law, it is incumbent that we do more to fully secure reproductive rights and ensure access to reproductive health care without delay. … In New Jersey, women will always have full autonomy over their own bodies and the right to make their own medical decisions.” Murphy signed an abortion rights bill in January.

• State Sen. Steven Oroho, the minority party leader, tweeted, “SCOTUS has reversed the flawed logic of Roe and reasserted the democratic principle that elected state legislatures and the communities they represent should make their own decisions on abortion w/out mandates of an overbearing unelected federal judiciary."

• Assembly majority leader Louis Greenwald said in a statement, “In the past two days, the Court has denied women throughout the country the individual right to choose and struck down New York’s concealed carry law, a common-sense policy to protect the public from senseless gun violence. These radical decisions undermine our American freedoms and I fear for those across the country who will end the week with fewer rights.

“In New Jersey, we are committed to keeping our communities safe and ensuring our residents’ rights and liberties are not lost. Anticipating the Court’s decision, we codified the right to reproductive choice in state law and are proud to have the strongest gun safety laws in the nation.”

• No rollbacks of state services will happen because of the ruling. New Jersey is among the most liberal in the country in regard to abortion, allowing it at any time in the pregnancy.

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