Berkeley Mayor Blasts ‘Unconscionable’ Roe Ruling

BERKELEY, CA – Berkeley’s top elected official on Tuesday issued a statement blasting majority opinion overturning Roe. v. Wade in a leaked draft – since confirmed by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Jesse Arreguín issued a statement Tuesday on Twitter calling the reversal of women’s reproductive rights that have stood nearly a half century “unconscionable.”

The leaked draft, first reported by Politico, is described by the outlet as “a full-throated, unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision — Planned Parenthood v. Casey — that largely maintained the right."

Alito wrote, "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start."

The court's ruling isn't expected until June or July, and the precise wording could change, Politico reports.

A vote to overturn Roe would send abortion access back to the states to decide. At least 26 are certain or likely to ban abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights policy group.

“It is unconscionable to watch the fundamental right to privacy being revoked before our very eyes,” Arreguín tweeted.

“The ability to access a safe abortion will always be protected in Berkeley. We must prevent a return to the dark days of ignoring the fact that reproductive rights are human rights.”

— Patch Editor Beth Dalby contributed to this report