PORTLAND, Maine — News broke this week about a leaked draft opinion suggesting the U.S. Supreme Court may be preparing to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report released Monday.
"It was really disheartening to see but not unsurprising," Nicole Clegg of Planned Parenthood Northern New England said.
Clegg said the organization where she works has been preparing for the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade since Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the court in 2018 under the Trump administration, but nothing has changed yet.
"While we know that the decision that was leaked implies that the majority are going to overturn Roe, it's important to know that abortion is safe and legal today," she said.
But not all Maine organizations support pro-choice initiatives.
"We uphold the sanctity of human life, from womb to tomb," Karen Vachon, executive director of pro-life group Maine Right to Life, said.
Vachon said overturning Roe v. Wade would be good for Maine.
"We are one of four states that actually has more deaths per year than births, and sadly we abort over five babies each day in the state of Maine," Vachon said, citing an annual internal report with statistics reportedly supported by the Maine Center for Disease Control.
If Roe v. Wade were overturned, each state would decide on how to regulate abortion rights.
"It would make state law [and the] state constitution much more important," Dmitry Bam, one of the deans at the University of Maine School of Law, said.
Bam said in Maine and other more progressive areas of the U.S., it'll be status quo.
"I would expect in New England and the West Coast, throughout many pockets of the country, nothing would really change because there's state constitutions and state statutes," Bam said.
Women can get an abortion in Maine up to the point at which a fetus is viable, which is 24 weeks, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Clegg said she and her team have already seen people from places like Texas come to Maine for abortions.
"We are certainly mindful of the fact that we are going to get more phone calls, more inquiries from people, from other states needing access to safe and legal abortions and we're prepared for that," she said.
For the time being, Vachon is confident her side may affect change at the local level.
"Reversing this decision and bringing it back to the states would be a really good decision, especially for Maine," she said.
Clegg said Planned Parenthood is committed to making sure that change doesn't happen.
"They are subject to repeal. Who's in the Blaine House matters. Who's in our House and Senate matters. They will be the ones deciding who has access and who doesn't," Clegg said.
These are decisions voters will make come November.