Nearly 200 people gathered in the courtyard of St. Odilia’s Catholic Church in Shoreview May 25 to discuss what could happen if Roe v. Wade is overturned and how to continue to help women and children in Minnesota.

Roe v. Wade — the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States nearly 50 years ago — could now be overturned by the court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. As a court opinion draft leaked May 2 indicates, the slim majority of conservative justices on the court could produce the most consequential decision in the abortion debate in decades. If overturned, the decision could re-write how pro-abortion and pro-life campaigns operate in Minnesota and across the nation, both pro-life and pro-choice advocates say.

The Respect Life Ministry at St. Odilia’s Church invited Teresa Collett, a law professor at St. Thomas University who has served under Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis on the Pontifical Council for the Family, and Angela Franey, who directs Abria Pregnancy Resources, to shed light on this topic.

Collett, who is also an elected member of the American Law Institute and has testified before Congressional committees, said that overturning Roe v. Wade would not result in a national ban on abortion.

“It is simply false that if Roe v. Wade and (related Supreme Court ruling) Planned Parenthood v. Casey are overturned, then suddenly we’ll have a uniform law throughout the United States that prohibits abortion,” said Collett.

Instead, the leaked draft indicates that the abortion decision will be placed in the hands of each state. Collett said that this recognizes the founding principle of federalism, which grants the authority on health care and morals to the state, not to the federal government.

“(The draft) makes the argument, ‘return it to the states, and let every state decide,’” said Collett. “The simple fact is, the Founding Fathers left the states the most fundamental issues, things like physician-assisted suicide and abortion, because they believe that the people in the states should control the decision on this issue.”

The potential for Roe v. Wade to be overturned hinges on the makeup of the current court, she said.

“If any one of these (conservative) justices die, we won’t have a majority,” Collett said. All five justices on the Alito draft opinion must be alive for the decision to have effect, she explained, noting Chief Justice Roberts has not yet released the final decision.

Considering that Justice Clarence Thomas was hospitalized for health reasons in March of this year while other justices seek protection from protesters outside their homes, Collett said that the outcome is anything but decided. If one of the five justices were to die, resulting in a nomination from President Joe Biden, a pro-choice Democrat, the court would become a liberal majority and would likely uphold Roe v. Wade as it stands.

Collett cited data from the Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion advocacy organization in New York, that states that 26 states would likely ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Abortion access in Minnesota is unlikely to be restricted, no matter what the Supreme Court decides, Collett said. Given the current law and legislature in the state, Collett said that Minnesota would likely become a “destination state” for abortions in a post-Roe world.

Abortion is highly protected in Minnesota, and efforts are underway to make the procedure even more widely available in the state, she said

Under the Minnesota constitution, there is a right — independent of the Roe v. Wade decision — for a woman to have an abortion that is equal to the right to bring her pregnancy to term. Employing the Equal Protection Clause, the state has established that if the state funds prenatal care, it must also fund abortions.

“In other words, the right to help pregnant women is held hostage to the right to support women ending their pregnancies,” said Collett. A reversal of Roe v. Wade would not touch these policies.

Moreover, in a legal battle currently underway in Ramsey County, abortion advocates are pushing for the right to abortion to encompass the right to not obtain parental consent, not to report adverse effects of abortion, not to report demographics and not to provide women with informed consent disclosure.

If this law passes, Minnesota “will become the most radical state in the union,” said Collett.

Franey, whose work as director of Abria Pregnancy Resources has helped 1,675 women in the St. Paul and Minneapolis locations in 2020 alone, offered insights into how to support pregnant women and their babies in this crucial time.

Abria is one of 86 pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) in the state, 30 of which are in the metro area. They operate autonomously, most relying solely on private donations, to provide women with the support and resources they need to choose to give their baby life.

“PRCs are about ministering to the mom and the baby,” said Franey, emphasizing “and.” “It’s a hand-up, not a hand-out.”

However, Franey said, changes to how women are seeking and obtaining abortions present challenges to Abria’s work, which are likely to be heightened if the Roe v. Wade decision is overturned.

Current statistics in Minnesota reveal that over half of abortions in the state are now performed via mifepristone or RU-486, also known as “the abortion pill.” However, the pill is only effective as an abortifacient in early pregnancy, and thus the window of time to reach women before they take the pill is increasingly narrow.

Moreover, the pill is now available by mail-order in any state, meaning that a woman never has to see a provider to obtain an abortion. This greatly reduces the opportunities for PRCs to intervene and inform a woman of her choices.

Ultrasounds are an essential tool in the work of PRCs. Eight out of ten women who see their baby by ultrasound choose life, according to Franey. However, since women are coming into the resource center at earlier stages of pregnancy, this tool is becoming less effective, she said.

With women accessing abortions through Google searches, the need for effective digital marketing of Abria’s services is becoming increasingly vital, she said. However, if abortion-minded women travel to Minnesota for an abortion in a post-Roe world, they will likely be even more difficult to reach.

In addition to increased marketing, more advanced ultrasound technology and funding for continuing their work, Franey said that Abria and other PRCs need prayers.

“God knows what we need,” she said.

Pat Benham, the director of the Respect Life Ministry at St. Odilia, said that parishioners have been very responsive to the group’s efforts to educate on abortion, adoption, gestational surrogacy and physician-assisted suicide.

“We try to bring in speakers who will talk about these issues in a way that makes clear what the Church’s teachings are on the sanctity of life, and then always the advocacy of what we can do with that information,” said Benham, who leads roughly 30 members of the group in their apostolate.

One of the group’s initiatives involves a crib in the back of the Church, which is positioned under a custom stained-glass window that says “choose life.”

Benham said that the crib is filled weekly by parishioners with donations for PRCs, such as baby bottles, baby clothes, formula and other necessities.

Diane Matko, who actively volunteers at Birthright in St. Paul, said that the event made her hopeful as a whole for the country, but she is saddened by Minnesota’s pro-abortion policies.

“It’s really sad that we live in Minnesota, which could become a destination state for this,” said Matko. “It’s disgusting.”

Janet McCoy, who has volunteered in pregnancy centers since 1996 and has spent 10 years as a sidewalk counselor, echoed Matko’s sentiments. She said that the biggest need in the pro-life movement going forward is the involvement of young adults.

“We need a younger face to the pro-life movement,” McCoy said. Retired people often have the time to volunteer at pregnancy resource centers. But with more funding, these centers could hire more full-time staff who can more easily relate to their clientele.

McCoy said that the event “makes me hopeful that we’ll have more conversations about it (and) that people who are on the fence will look more closely at the issue.”

Father Erich Rutten, St. Odilia’s pastor, said that he was deeply humbled for his parish to host this event.

“If we can host something that gives good information and helps guide us through these times, I’m honored,” he said.