Statement from County Executive Marc Elrich on Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade

For Immediate Release: Friday, June 24, 2022

In response to the Supreme Court Holding today in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, County Executive Marc Elrich released the following statement:

“The Supreme Court ruling today jeopardizes women, rolls back fundamental rights, and, ultimately, will significantly impact the health and life of many women in our Country. This ruling turns the clock back on the progress that has been made to ensure the right of women to have an abortion. This is not about law, this is about a twisted ideology. The irony is that this decision comes one day after we celebrated Title IX and its impact on the progress of women. I am very concerned that there will be additional rollbacks from this court that will impact our rights.

While we cannot directly affect other states actions, we can make certain Montgomery County does not provide additional revenue to states which are unwelcome to women’s freedom. Therefore, I have directed Chief Administrative Officer Richard S. Madaleno to draft a new policy for County employees (with limited exceptions) that bars County payment for travel to states with policies that roll back a woman’s right to choose, and I call on other jurisdictions which cherish a woman’s autonomy to withhold funds from these states as well. While Montgomery County does everything it can to protect the right to an abortion, we will also not give taxpayer dollars to states that try to drag us back to a dark past.

As I mentioned in May when a draft of this decision was leaked, multiple Supreme Court justice nominees lied during their nomination hearings. Time and time again, these justices all referred to Roe v. Wade as “established law.” Republican Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, said she was misled by nominees before the Court, which I consider a big problem.

Here in Montgomery County, we moved quickly to get ahead of this decision. I recommended the supplemental allocation of $1 million to help support women’s health services in our area.

We hope it offers both financial and emotional support to the medical professionals who are now dealing with the repercussions of today’s Supreme Court decision.

This is a dark day for our Country, and I hope that all people affected by today’s ruling know that Montgomery County will remain a safe place for them and their loved ones."

 

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