As the Supreme Court’s reversal of abortion rights sank in among Americans on Friday, protests swelled in Washington, D.C., and in city centers, town plazas and parks across the United States. Some were coordinated, some less so.
Outside the Supreme Court, a divided crowd that had begun gathering early in the day had swelled to thousands of mostly outraged abortion rights demonstrators by evening, clashing with small groups of joyful anti-abortion activists who blew bubbles and celebrated the end of the federal guarantee of access to a safe and legal means of ending a pregnancy.
The deeply polarized country woke up to a new level of division: between states that will now or soon deny the right to abortion, enshrined since 1973, and those that still allow it.
After protests went late into the night, several hundreds of people thronged the streets outside the fenced-off Supreme Court again Saturday, in hot summer weather, carrying signs that read “War on women, who’s next?” and “No uterus, No opinion.”
At least eight right-leaning states imposed immediate bans on abortion — with a similar number to follow suit in coming weeks — after the Supreme Court eliminated 50-year-old constitutional protections for the procedure, drawing criticism from some of America’s closest allies around the world.
Fueling the mobilization, many now fear that the Supreme Court, with a clear conservative majority made possible by Donald Trump, might next set its sights on rights like same-sex marriage and contraception.
In addition to the large demonstration outside the supreme court in Washington DC – where activists shouted, “This decision must not stand! Legal abortion on demand!” and “We won’t go back!” – protesters rallied in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Houston, Nashville, Kansas City, Topeka, Tallahassee, Miami, Oklahoma, Boise, New Orleans and Detroit. Solidarity protests also erupted overseas in London and Berlin.
In Arizona, people protesting the decision in Phoenix were sent fleeing when police fired tear gas from the state capitol building after demonstrators banged on the doors of the senate, according to eyewitness reports.
Anti-abortion groups and some religious leaders in the state celebrated the ruling, while a chorus of political leaders, health care providers and activists decried the court’s decision and called for stronger protections for the state’s existing laws. The ruling does not upend abortion laws in Massachusetts or other states that allow the medical procedure.
Massachusetts Citizens for Life expressed delight at the rollback of abortion rights in many other states across the U.S., but said there’s still more work to do to make abortions illegal in the state.
“Despite the scare tactics from the pro-abortion lobby, abortions will unfortunately still happen here in Massachusetts,” said Myrna Maloney Flynn, president of the group. “All of us at Massachusetts Citizens for Life and our thousands of members around the state are dedicated to educating the public about the humanity of the unborn and the resources available to pregnant women who need assistance.”
Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley called the decision “deeply significant and encouraging.”
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