COURTESY RUTH AMERSON

Ruth Amerson, founder of Another Choice for Black Children in Charlotte, said the agency is preparing for the possibility of more Black youngsters being put up for adoption if rollbacks of abortion access become law in North Carolina.

Everybody has an opinion about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Unlike some states, abortions are still legal in North Carolina, and Gov. Roy Cooper has said he will continue to support the right to choose.

“I will continue to trust women to make their own medical decisions as we fight to keep politicians out of the doctor’s exam room,” he posted on Twitter after the court’s decision to rule federal protection of abortion unconstitutional. As a result, some women will lose the right to receive an abortion based on the state they reside in.

In a 5-4 vote, the court ruled states should decide whether to ban or limit the right to an abortion. The decision also means states can make abortion illegal without exception for rape or incest.

“The Supreme Court is comfortable overturning the constitutional right to marriage equality, the right to use contraceptives, and the very right for same sex couples to have relationships,” U.S. Rep. Alma Adams of Charlotte said at a press conference. “This decision is fundamentally wrong. This decision will affect everyone, but the impact will fall hardest on those who already faced barriers to care, Black and brown women, those who live in rural areas or have lower incomes and can't afford to cross state lines for care young people and in the LGBTQ people and women in abusive relationships.”

In 1973, the court ruled in Roe v. Wade that the Constitution allows women the liberty to have an abortion if desired. Now that the right to privacy is no longer protected, reproductive rights have moved to the forefront of national conversations. North Carolina law restricts abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless there is a “substantial risk” to the mother’s health or life.

Some churches are rejoicing over the court’s decision and voiced their opinion during worship services.

“Our job is to move off the cadence of the Holy Scripture and win souls,” Pastor Gabriel Rogers at Kingdom Christian Church in Charlotte during a service. “I’m not trying to stop people just at the gate of the abortion center. I want to win some folk in families so that abortion is never a contemplation.”

In the U.S, Black women have the highest ratio of abortions at 38% of reported procedures, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Black women are five times more likely to have an abortion compared to white women.

Despite fears that reproductive freedom has been snatched away from women, rolling back Roe could lead to the adoption of more Black children.

Black children in foster care typically wait three to four years longer than any other child to be placed in a permanent home, according to Another Choice for Black Children, a black-owned adoption agency in Charlotte.

“A lot of folks are afraid of adopting African American males,” said Ruth Amerson, ACBC’s CEO and founder. “Through our agency, we have actually found how to support African American males [more] than any other child. We just want to continue to tell our community, our boys need families as well.”

Black boys tend to come last for adoption at Another Choice because some adopters may fear how the child will be viewed and navigate in a racist society. Another Choice has helped more than 1,000 kids to find homes since 1995.

Amerson added adoption helps “strengthen Black families” through mentorship for Black children and that the Supreme Court’s decision could increase adoptions in North Carolina.

Pro-choice advocates and health officials fear a post-Roe America could lead to dangerous, unsanitary abortions while worsening the maternal morbidity crisis that Black women already face.

“We know low-income people, people of color are more likely to die during pregnancy and have major morbidity during pregnancy, said Dr. Jonas Swartz, assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University. “We regularly care for patients who need to focus on their own health, and the pregnancy significantly puts that health at risk. They need to be free to make the choice to end the pregnancy in that situation.”

The reversal of Roe could further limit safety net programs for Black women, access to contraceptives, and force them to pay out of pocket for abortion care. In North Carolina, health plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cover abortion only in the event of a life-threatening pregnancy, rape, or incest. For public employees with insurance policies, abortion costs are covered under the same scenarios.

Doctors in North Carolina are already seeing a spill-over effect with women traveling from other states for abortions and worry the reversal will cause delays in healthcare for patients.

“This will impact care for North Carolinians, for people in Durham, if other states have bans,” said Dr. Beverly Gray, founder of the Duke Reproductive Health Equity and Advocacy Mobilization team. “We’re already seeing an increase in cases from the spillover effect. Those folks in surrounding states are getting delays in care ... and they come to other states. We’re seeing this tidal wave effect of folks seeking care.”

Adams aims to remain vigilant in the fight for women to have the right of abortion in the state.

“As Congresswoman [Deborah] Ross said: ‘We’re going to have to get out and fight.’ We have the ballot that we can use.”

Aaliyah Bowden, who covers health for The Post, as a Report For America corps member.

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