Malverne HS valedictorian to argue pro-choice before Supreme Court

Stephanie Toti was set to be the lead attorney in a Supreme Court abortion rights case scheduled on March 2.

Courtesy Center for Reproductive Rights

Attorney Stephanie Toti, 37, valedictorian of Malverne High School’s class of 1996, is surely a source of pride for area residents and the students, faculty and administrators at the high school.

On March 2, Toti is slated to argue one of the nation’s most significant abortion cases of this century and will be one of the lead attorneys in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, a Texas case that could determine access to abortion services in that state and other communities throughout the United States. The court is expected to make its decision in June.

We spoke with Toti, who is senior council at the Center for Reproductive Rights in Manhattan, just two days prior to the case to learn more about her local history, and why the trial is instrumental for the future of women’s health.

Why has the press called this one of the most significant abortion trials of this century?

It’s the standard by which courts are going to review laws that restrict access to abortion. The laws are designed to promote women’s health, but the American Medical Association and other organizations have come out to say that these laws don’t actually promote women’s health. They actually harm it. If the court defers to the state rationale, then there will be nothing to prevent states from regulating abortions. We’re asking the court to give meaningful scrutiny to abortion laws. These laws would force more than three quarters of the abortion clinics in Texas to close — and it’s the second largest state in the country. There would be huge regions of the state that no longer have an abortion provider at all. Across the state, people would be delayed in getting an abortion because there will be so many fewer providers. It will take longer to get an appointment, and the longer the procedure is delayed, the more risk exists. Some women wouldn’t be able to reach a licensed provider, and there’s evidence that they will try to to take matters into their own hands.

How many lawyers are representing your client, in addition to you?

We have a team of lawyers, about a dozen of us altogether.

You’ve argued dozens of abortion rights cases, but never before the Supreme Court. What will that be like?