Massachusetts needs to ‘be the leader’ in support of abortion rights, Sen. Ed Markey says in debate

Amid a national debate on the future of abortion rights, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey deferred to women.

During the Massachusetts Senate debate between Markey and Republican challenger Kevin O’Connor Monday evening hosted by GBH, the candidates were asked of the national response to the COVID-19 health crisis, the Supreme Court nomination process and racial inequities.

On abortion rights, Markey said now is the time for Massachusetts “to be the leader in ensuring we put on the books" a women’s right to choose.

“The decision has to be made by women,” Markey said.

O’Connell accused his opponent as being among “the most extreme group” of Democratic leaders on the issue.

The majority of Americans support the legal right to an abortion. A 2019 poll conducted by Public Policy Polling on behalf of NARAL Pro-Choice America found that 88% percent of voters in Massachusetts believe it should be legal. Nationwide, a recent poll found 77% of Americans support abortion rights.

The future of Roe v. Wade became one of national discussions after Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death last month.

President Donald Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court at the White House on Sept. 26.

Barrett was confirmed as a federal judge by the Senate in 2017. In the White House’s announcement of her as the president’s nominee, she was highlighted as a mother of seven children, including her youngest son, Benjamin, who has Down syndrome.

O’Connor described Barrett as an “extremely well-qualified” candidate who has “lived an extraordinary life.”

O’Connor said “some have tried to vilify her for her Catholic faith” and that the court needs “the best people who have lived responsibly.”

Markey has been vocal in his call for leaders to honor Ginsberg’s final wish and not fill the seat until after Election Day.

If Republican Senate leaders move forward with proceedings to fill the seat, Markey threatened to abolish the filibuster and pack the Supreme Court.

“Mitch McConnell set the precedent,” Markey wrote on Twitter last month. “No Supreme Court vacancies filled in an election year. If he violates it, when Democrats control the Senate in the next Congress, we must abolish the filibuster and expand the Supreme Court.”

In Massachusetts, an effort is underway to expand abortion access within the commonwealth. The ROE Act was presented by state Sen. Harriette L. Chandler, of Worcester, and has been sponsored by 21 other state senators and 92 representatives in the State House.

The bill would codify into Massachusetts law a patient’s right to an abortion within 24 weeks of pregnancy. It would also allow a doctor to perform an abortion past 24 weeks when it is deemed necessary to protect the mother’s life or in cases of lethal fetal anomalies. The bill would also remove the current mandate in requiring parental or judicial consent for those under the age of 18.

Following Barrett’s nomination, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts called upon the state legislature to pass the ROE Act.

“For too many Bay Staters, the right to safe, legal abortion care is a right on paper only," Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts Rebecca Hart Holder said. "Justice Ginsburg understood that a right that exists solely on paper is no right at all. Massachusetts can honor her legacy and her work – and further its commitment to justice and equality – by passing the ROE Act.”

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