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Women’s March Sussex protests overturn of Roe v. Wade

Delaware legislation would expand abortion access
June 28, 2022

More than 100 people attended a June 26 protest at the Lewes library to voice their anger and frustration with the U.S. Supreme Court following its recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

Although a draft of the Supreme Court’s decision had leaked in May, the official announcement came June 24, ending federal protections for women seeking an abortion. The decision means the abortion issue is left up to individual states. 

Women’s March Sussex organized the protest in Lewes. Paulette Rappa, the organization’s chair, called on all in attendance to take action. 

“We’re angry. We’re frustrated. We voted. We’re pissed off,” Rappa said. “They’re obviously not paying attention. They’re not hearing us. We need to do things that make them pay attention.” 

Rappa said it’s time to defy. 

“I’m not comfortable or satisfied or feeling accepted by my country,” she said. “The next time the national anthem is played or the next time I’m asked to take the pledge of allegiance, I’m taking a knee.”

She encouraged others to do the same at upcoming Fourth of July events. 

Several candidates seeking office attended the rally, including Stell Parker Selby, candidate for House District 20; Jack Bucchioni and Russ Huxtable, candidates for Senate District 6; Keegan Worley, candidate for House District 4; and Christopher Bookhammer-Edginton, candidate for Sussex County register of wills. 

Protests organized by Delaware NOW were also held in Seaford and New Castle June 24, and many more demonstrations took place throughout the country in recent days. 

Delaware NOW is planning another rally at Planned Parenthood in Seaford Thursday, June 30. Another peaceful protest is scheduled for 2 p.m., Monday, July 4, along Route 1 near the intersection with Old Landing Road. Organizers Gianna Krider and Emily Burke say the protest was spurred by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

Delaware is one of 13 states that have codified abortion rights. A bill is currently working its way through the General Assembly to expand access. House Bill 455, sponsored by Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, D-New Castle, would permit physician assistants, certified nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives to perform abortions. The bill is passed the House 24-13 June 14, and is awaiting action in the Senate. 

On the other side of the issue, Sen. Bryant Richardson, R-Seaford, introduced Senate Bill 235 in March. The bill, known as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, would ban abortions after 20 weeks, which is when the bill says an unborn child is capable of experiencing pain. The bill has not advanced out of committee since being introduced. 

The City of Seaford has taken a different approach to the abortion issue. In December, Seaford council passed a fetal remains ordinance that would force anyone who has a surgical abortion at an abortion facility or a miscarriage at a healthcare facility to have the fetal tissue interred or cremated at their own expense. Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings filed a lawsuit in Chancery Court to invalidate the ordinance. Seaford council later voted to stay the ordinance, meaning it will stay on the books, but won’t be enforced. 

Legislators react

Delaware’s congressional delegation and statewide leaders unanimously denounced the Supreme Court’s decision. 

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester: “Today’s decision is a devastating and direct attack on women across the United States. The legal underpinnings of the decision are profoundly misguided and deeply alarming. While abortion will continue to be protected in Delaware, the consequences of this decision will now be borne disproportionately by women of color and in rural communities across the country where access to health care is already hard to come by. That we knew this decision was coming does not blunt the feelings of anger, disappointment, and indignation we feel today – but we must now channel that anger into action. We must work to codify Roe at the federal level. We cannot give up. We will not go back.”

Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long: “Today's ruling by the Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade is an attack on the freedom of women to make decisions about their own bodies, and an attack on basic human rights. As a nurse for over three decades, I am angered and appalled that millions of women will no longer have the right to make informed decisions about their reproductive health. Today's decision is crushing for our nation, but make no mistake, this fight isn't over. We must not and will not back down. The future of our health depends on it.”

Sen. Tom Carper: “This is a dark day for our country and our Constitution. In the face of what will surely go down in constitutional infamy for the harm it does to the Americans it ought to serve, I’m committed to doing everything I can to protect women from the pain that this decision will cause.” 

Sen. Chris Coons: “Today’s decision guts 50 years of established precedent – and takes away a fundamental freedom for women to make their own choices about their body and their future. Every woman in America deserves the right to make her own reproductive health care choices.”

Gov. John Carney: “Today's decision upends half a century of settled law, and it will lead to risk and heartache for women and families across the country. Here in Delaware, a woman's right to choose is protected under the law, as it should be. These are deeply personal and private decisions – decisions that ought to remain in the hands of the women who have to make them.”

 

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