Speakers called for the swift passage of the Act to Remove Obstacles and Expand Abortion Access, or ROE Act, in Massachusetts. Behind them stood a wall of women dressed as Supreme Court justices, Lady Liberty and — most prominently — handmaids from Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel and series “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

The world seems pretty grim right now. The coronavirus pandemic continues to plague all corners of the globe, and there is no apparent end in sight. The word “unprecedented” no longer adequately sums...