Roe v. Wade: Marin leaders speak out on threat to decades-old abortion law

Huffman also joined in a mounting clarion call to representatives to pass federal protections on abortion access.

Supervisor Damon Connolly, who is vying for Levine’s seat in June, also said he intended to work to keep California “an abortion sanctuary.”

“I know this news is a gut punch coming at the heel of what’s felt like six years of bad news. But we must keep fighting,” he said. “With the Supreme Court failing us, we must do even more to make sure that California continues moving forward and that we are welcoming to all who require safe and legal access to reproductive health services.”

Others saw a potential overturn of Roe v. Wade as an opportunity to further enshrine protections for the unborn.

Caleb Klinge, a pastor at the New Life Christian Center in Novato, described himself as “very pro-life.”

“I was born in 1973, just four months after Roe v. Wade,” he said. “Among my generation, millennials and Generation Z, there is an overwhelming sense that millions of us are missing.”

He said unborn, aborted children were deprived of unalienable human rights, but noted there were cases “where a mother’s life is in danger” that could allow for some flexibility on the prohibition. He said if the law were overturned, he hoped states would pass new laws which “protected the sanctity of life” of mothers and the unborn.

Marin GOP Vice Chair Tom Montgomery said the organization would not comment at this time because it was not a final ruling.

He noted, however, “the integrity of the court has been breached by this leak — by whomever did it.”

Rory Little, a law professor at the University of California, Hastings College of Law in San Francisco and a former Supreme Court clerk, said he was at a private ceremony for former Associate Justice John Paul Stevens on Monday just hours before the news broke.

“There was no hint of this yesterday,” from what he observed at the memorial, he said.

“One thing I think what people aren’t saying, this is just a first draft,” he said. “Until all of that is done, that back and forth editing, it’s not final.”

Little said, however, that despite the modifications, it seemed likely abortion access would be overturned. He called the document “authentic” and appeared to be written in a “strident” tone unique to Alito.

He also called the leak of the document “unprecedented,” noting it was unclear who would have done so and what their motivations were. He added it would likely kick off a political battle to potentially codify protections within federal law. The battle may result in overturning of the filibuster rule, which requires more than 60 votes to stop debate on a law, so protections could be added with a simple majority.

Katie Koyfman, the former president of the Dominican University political science student association who graduated from the university in 2017, called the document “haunting” and a “detrimental decision.”

“You can’t ban abortion, you can only ban safe abortion,” she said. “I’m really grateful to live in California because you can go and get it safely here. We’ve been preparing, we knew this could happen, that doesn’t make it any less scary. It’s still really shocking.”

Robin Strom, executive director of the Marin Pregnancy Clinic in Novato, said the organization does not offer abortion services. She said it is a free, prenatal clinic that sees mothers until the seventh month of pregnancy. She said the clinic belongs to a national affiliate monitoring the court decision, legislation and other issues that impact nonprofits.

Officials at the Planned Parenthood clinic in San Rafael could not be reached on Tuesday. A representative for the Northern California chapter said she was at a rally in San Francisco and also was unavailable.