SAN ANGELO, Texas — The decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has created a lot of conversation in San Angelo. Some agree with the Supreme Court, while others feel this will open the door for more health issues in this country.
“Abortions are not going to stop. They are going to stop being safe. There are going to be deaths. There are going to be major consequences. We're right back where we started all these generations ago,” Women’s March of San Angelo co-creator Michelle Troyer said.
She also mentioned that unwanted pregnancies, forced births and child abuse may rise as a result of the Supreme Court decision.
Troyer helped put together a women rights group in San Angelo. One member, Emily Lambert, explained how she believes this overturn shows how much the government's priorities are in the wrong place.
"It's really mind-boggling that we would turn something and we don't even have anything in place for the kids that are here, like the people who are suffering," Lambert said. "It's not the people who have money. It's the people who can't afford to have kids, the people who can't afford to go out to get birth control, the people who can't afford to go to the hospitals. I mean, having children is expensive. And yet we are taking away the option to be able to prepare."
Laura Brown, an Angelo State University student, believes this is the start of more civil rights issues resurfacing.
“This is just the beginning, I believe, of a series of drawbacks that are going to be happening on modern milestones toward civil rights. This is the first time in nearly a hundred years that we have not seen a push for civil rights in the Supreme Court, but rather a pullback,” Brown shared.
On the other side of this, San Angelo Tea Party President Anna Bartosh said abortion defies the Constitution and the Supreme Court made the best decision for the states.
"Being with the Tea Party, we certainly support our Constitution and we the people. So the Supreme Court didn't ban abortion today, but they gave it back to the states. So we the people have closer contact with our representatives that represent us in each of our states. So we're excited about that because that's more or more of a win for the people,” Bartosh explained.
In March, the San Angelo City Council rejected making San Angelo a sanctuary for the unborn but decided to propose leaving the decision to San Angelo voters on the November ballot.
Founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative Mark Lee Dickson was ahead of this idea in San Angelo and has worked in hundreds of other cities across the country and is excited about Friday's decision.
“Great victory today for a life not just for Texas, but for all of America. Roe v. Wade has been on the books for 49 years. And today we saw Roe v. Wade pass away. And that's a good thing for many in America. This ordinance is forward thinking, and we want to make sure that no abortion happens, no abortions happen, period, because those are innocent people made in the image of God. And we just don't want abortion, period,” Dickson said.
As of right now, there is no official word if making San Angelo an unborn sanctuary has been added to the November ballot. The Women's March of San Angelo is organizing a protest at the Tom Green County Courthouse this weekend.
The Supreme Court decision will end nearly 50 years of federally guaranteed access to abortion this move is also expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states in the country.