Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh today suggested Boston could provide a safe harbor for legal abortion clinics if President-elect Trump follows through on his vow to appoint Supreme Court justices who will reverse Roe v. Wade.
Trump has said he will appoint Supreme Court justices who would seek to overturn the landmark 1973 decision that made abortion legal across the United States. Over the weekend, Trump told a "60 Minutes" interviewer the issue of legal abortion then would be decided on a state level, and some women would have to "go to another state" to obtain an abortion.
Walsh noted others within the GOP may want to cut off money to states who support reproductive rights if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Asked what he could do currently as mayor to protect women’s reproductive rights, Walsh said, "Working with the legislature to make sure the laws don’t get weakened. Working with health centers to make sure that, if there’s there’s threats of cutting back federal funding to those health centers for any type of reproductive rights, working with all the health centers in the city of Boston to make sure there is an open-door policy.
The mayor warned of the lasting negative impacts a Trump presidency could have.
“I have never had a feeling on the streets like I do today,” Walsh said. “The pro-Trump people are all excited about him being elected, but imagine what could happen, the damage that could be happen, if he follows through on even half of his campaign promises, the damage could take decades to overturn and generations to overturn.
The mayor has repeatedly said he will not tolerate any bullying of immigrants, women, or members of the LGBT community, as reports of such incidents have soared in the wake of Trump’s election to the presidency.
Walsh added his Office of Immigrant Advancement has been fielding calls since the election and said there has been some “unrest” in schools with children whose parents are immigrants or who are immigrants themselves.
One supporter, he said, called City Hall and harangued a staff member until he intervened himself.
“I walked by somebody’s desk and she held the phone out and said this guy is just going off. … He was going on and on and on and on,” Walsh said with a chuckle. “He was talking about Trump and talking about this and getting rid of this person and that person.