Demonstrators Gather in Pasadena to Protest Possible Roe v. Wade Reversal

Following a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court on Monday that indicated that the court appears likely to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, nearly 200 demonstrators gathered outside the Pasadena Courthouse on Tuesday to protest.

The protest was one of hundreds that occurred across the U.S. on Tuesday following the release of the draft opinion. In downtown Los Angeles, abortion rights supporters squared off in clashes where one officer was injured, police said Wednesday.

Pasadena’s demonstration was peaceful.

Standing outside the Courthouse on Walnut Street near City Hall, former Pasadena Councilmember Jacque Robinson-Baisley said she was there because she was “infuriated.”

“It is 2022, and while I would like to think I’m not that old yet, I never thought that I would see the day when Roe v. Wade would be on the verge of being struck down,” she said.

Robinson-Baisley added that she was hopeful that since the decision that was leaked was only a first draft of a possible opinion, that the Supreme Court would change its mind and “see the fear that has been unleashed over the last few days.”

Protester Carl Selkin, professor emeritus at California State University, Los Angeles, who called the possible decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, “an outrageous attempt to control people and to restrict freedom,” also pointed out that “In the Jewish tradition, actual life doesn’t start until a baby breathes its first breath, so the idea that a fetus is a life is not part of the tradition that much of this country’s ideals are formed on.”

Asked about the impact of the reversal of Roe V. Wade, Juliana Serrano, vice president of advocacy & equity at Planned Parenthood Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley, said, “If Roe is completely overturned, what we will expect is for 26 states in the nation to have flat-out abortion bans, which means that people of those states would not be able to access the abortion care that they need and want.”

“So,” continued Serrano, “what that invites California to do, is to serve those patients, and we here in California are living in a state where the governor has declared this a State of Reproductive Freedom, and we are fully preparing to not only continue to serve Californians, and provide abortion access to them, but also to those people who are coming our way.”

Despite the leaked opinion, it could actually be months before it is known if the leaked document would serve as the basis for the court’s final decision, or if it was “just an opening round of negotiations.”