NJ's Abortion Access Could Be In Jeopardy If Voters Do Not Act, Malinowski Warns

DISTRICT 7 — While abortion access is protected by state law in New Jersey for now, Congressman Tom Malinowski (District 7) is warning residents that "our law is not necessarily safe."

Malinowski, who represents all of Hunterdon County, and parts of Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union, and Warren counties, is reminding residents of the importance of voting in the upcoming November election following reports that the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade

"I will just say that the people that I represent across the 7th District — some are Democrat, some are Republican, some are unaffiliated — We are all tired of the division and the conflict in this country and of having our lives unended again and again. The last thing that we need is for a radical Supreme Court to rip to shreds 50 years of settled law in this country that the overwhelming majority of Americans support," said Malinowski at an unrelated news conference Tuesday.

His statement was followed by applause by audience members.

Malinowski praised legislators and Governor Phil Murphy for signing the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act into New Jersey law earlier this year. It ensures access to abortions in New Jersey, whether or not the Supreme Court overturns the landmark cases. Read More: Abortion Access Would Remain In New Jersey If Roe v. Wade Overturned

But he also warned "that our law is not necessarily safe" because the same people who have been pressing for the Supreme Court are also trying to elect a majority to the United States Congress that want to enact a nationwide abortion ban.

"If we allow them to do that our law becomes moot and that's the stake in this election in November that all of us have to remember," said Malinowski. "Are we going to preserve a majority in the House of Representatives in the Senate that will protect 50 years of settled law in this country that will protect a woman's right to choose?"

Politico obtained an unprecedented leak from the highest court in the land — a draft majority opinion indicating five justices will overturn Roe (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).

"When I stood with lawmakers in October 2020 to introduce the Reproductive Freedom Act, it was just six days after Donald Trump selected Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court," said Murphy. "It was as clear then as it is now that this Court, stacked with Trump appointees, could not be trusted to protect women's reproductive rights."

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