WASHINGTON / JACKSON, Miss., June 25 (Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters rallied in front of the US Supreme Court on Saturday to condemn a decision by judges to overturn Rowe’s half-century-old precedent that recognizes women’s constitutional right to abortion.
The broad court ruling by a 6-3 conservative majority was supposed to change American life, with nearly half of the states considering themselves safe or likely to ban abortion.
Conservative Judge Clarence Thomas has suggested that the court’s motives may also lead it to reconsider previous decisions protecting the right to contraception, legalizing gay marriage across the country and repealing state laws banning gay sex.
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As the day progressed, the number of demonstrators in front of the Supreme Court increased significantly. The fenced area in front of the Supreme Court was largely filled with applicants for abortion rights.
Crowds carried placards with slogans such as “Stop SCOTUS.” One of the protesters carried a placard reading “Limit guns, not women” in connection with another Supreme Court ruling this week to expand gun rights.
Earlier in the afternoon, a proponent of Friday’s decision said: “The thing that the defenders of ‘my body, my choice’ do not understand is that the aborted baby never had a choice.”
The man, who identified himself as Adam John, added, “Life in the womb is important, isn’t it?”
President Joe Biden, who spoke harshly Friday about the Supreme Court ruling, said on Saturday that the White House would monitor how states imposed the bans, with administration officials already signaling that they planned to fight attempts to ban pills. used for medical abortion. Read more
“The decision is being implemented by the states,” Biden said. “My administration will focus on how they administer and whether they violate other laws or not.”
The White House said it would also challenge any effort by states to limit women’s ability to travel outside their home state to seek abortion.
Meanwhile, Vatican official Andrea Thornieli wrote in an editorial that anti-abortion activists should be concerned about other threats to life, such as easy access to weapons, poverty and rising maternal mortality. Read more
For Christian Conservatives, who have long struggled to repeal Rowe, Friday’s decision was a prized victory and partly the result of a long campaign to appoint anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court. The decision had the support of all three judges appointed by former President Donald Trump.
This is contrary to public opinion. A Reuters / Ipsos poll last month found that about 71 percent of Americans – including a majority of Democrats and Republicans – say abortion decisions should be left to the woman and her doctor, not regulated by the government. This support is not absolute: 26% of respondents said that abortion should be legal in all cases, while 10% said it should be illegal in all cases, with the majority supporting some restrictions. Read more
The decision is likely to affect voter behavior in the November 8 by-elections, when Biden’s Democrats risk losing their majority as a razor in the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. Some party leaders have hoped the decision will win voters in the suburbs, although activists have expressed demoralization from suffering such a defeat while their party held full power in Washington. Read more
“They can ask for votes for more power, but don’t they have Congress and the White House anymore?” Said Patricia Smith, a 24-year-old abortion rights activist who went to the Supreme Court to protest. “They failed to adopt much in terms of legislation despite power, so what’s the point?”
The majority of Democrats in the Senate is so narrow that it is difficult for them to overcome the resistance of Republicans, who are able to raise procedural barriers to bills.
The abortion decision came a day after the court issued another important ruling finding that Americans have a constitutional right to carry a concealed protective pistol – prompting them to repeal a New York state law that places strict restrictions on covert permits. wearing. Read more
Both decisions showed an aggressively conservative court, ready to reshape American life at a time when Congress is often at a dead end and struggling to accept major policy changes. Read more
Speaking to reporters Saturday, a group of Democratic chief prosecutors said they would not use their offices to ban abortions.
“We will not use Wisconsin Department of Justice resources to investigate or prosecute anyone for alleged violations of the 19th-century abortion ban,” said Josh Kaul, the state’s attorney general.
TEARS, ANGER TO THE ‘PINK HOUSE’
The case that led to Friday’s decision revolves around a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy before the fetus is viable outside the womb. The Jackson Women’s Health Organization, dubbed the “Pink House” because of its chewing gum paint, was named in the case.
The clinic was open on Saturday morning, with attendants arriving at the only state abortion clinic around 5 a.m. to prepare for the patients’ arrival.
Anti-abortion protesters erected stairs to peek over the property’s fence and large posters with messages including “abortion is murder.”
Coleman Boyd, 50, a longtime protester in front of the clinic, incorrectly told women waiting for meetings that they were breaking the law. In fact, Mississippi law will not close the clinic for another nine days.
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Additional reports by Lucia Muticani, Andrea Shalal and Daphne Psaledakis; Screenplay by Scott Malone and Richard Cowan; Edited by Daniel Wallis
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