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Mid-Ohio Valley reaction to Dobbs abortion decision mixed

PARKERSBURG — As it was across the country, reaction to Friday’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade was divided locally.

For Judith Stephens, chairwoman of the Wood County Democratic Executive Committee, the ruling “just set us back 100 years.”

To state Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, it was “one of the most glorious days in the history of our country.”

Stephens said the court should have been ruling on the specific Mississippi law at the center of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, rather than changing law recognized for decades.

“Had the Senate done its job and codified Roe, this wouldn’t be happening,” Stephens said. “Now women will die from ectopic pregnancies, 12-year-old girls will be forced to give birth to the child conceived because of incest. … Rape, birth defects so severe there is no chance of survival or quality of life; the list goes on and on.”

Azinger said the decision gives states the ability to determine whether abortion is legal and will not endanger women.

“It’s up to the states now, and there’ll be a lot of states that still allow abortion … unfortunately,” he said.

Azinger said he was attending a meeting of the National Association of Christian Legislators in Missouri when the decision was announced and reactions in the room were emotional.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “The Bible says, ‘with God, all things are possible.'”

Azinger is up for re-election this fall against Democrat Jody Murphy, who said he was disappointed by the decision.

“President Bill Clinton declared that abortion should be ‘safe, legal and rare,'” he said. “I hope somewhere down the road, we restore the safe and legal means for abortion. And I hope it continues to remain a rare tool.”

The decision won’t change services at Planned Parenthood’s Vienna location, which is a family planning clinic that does not offer abortions, said Emily Womeldorff, with Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which provides services in West Virginia, Virginia and North and South Carolina.

Janet Kimes, the manager of the Women’s Care Center, a local faith-based facility that provides education and care to women facing unexpected pregnancies but does not provide or refer for abortions, said she would issue a statement on the decision over the weekend.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

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