PHOENIX — Planned Parenthood Arizona and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix both reacted to the leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision that became public this week, sharing how each would feel should it be officially overturned.
While some are seeing the leaked draft as an answer to their prayers, others…not so much. Going as far as to protest the leaked draft all over the United States, including in Phoenix Tuesday.
“They’re making their voices heard and I think that this is really just the beginning,” said Brittany Fonteno, the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.
Fonteno says the leaked draft was devastating to see.
“I believe that Roe v. Wade potentially being overturned is one of the most fundamental breaches of our freedom,” she told ABC15.
She says that freedom includes women being able to have autonomy over their own body.
“If Roe v. Wade is overturned, we know that there are 26 states in the United States that are poised to either eliminate or highly restrict access to abortion,” she said.
ABC15 talking to a woman who wanted to remain anonymous, but also wanted to share her story, and the lengths she had to go through to ultimately get an abortion in Arizona; all because it was illegal to have an abortion in the country she resided in.
“I technically had to travel to two countries to get an abortion. So, one country that it was illegal, in hopes that I could do it under the table in a sense. And then, when that didn’t work out, yeah coming back to the U.S. where it is legal,” she said.
This woman says potentially stripping women of that right may only make matters more dangerous for them.
“It’s not going to necessarily stop that pursuit. It just would make it more difficult and maybe put people in more circumstances that are potentially dangerous to them. You know, for a procedure that shouldn’t be so dangerous,” she told us.
Mike Phelan is the Director of the Office of Marriage and Respect life, with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.
He says they’ve long prayed Roe v. Wade be overturned.
“We’re all in favor of freedom. We’re all in favor of choice. The challenge comes when those choices impact the lives and dignity of other people and that’s where we need to draw lines,” he told ABC15.
This is what the Diocese believes in.
“If abortion is the killing of a human person who is innocent, then not having that in our country would be the ideal,” said Phelan.
Should the leaked draft become an official ruling, "We stand ready to help women who need help as well,” Phelan said.
Even though the leaked draft seems to signal an end to the decades long precedent upholding Roe. v. Wade, Fonteno says Planned Parenthood won’t back down.
“This is the fight. We’re ready for it,” she said.
