The US Supreme Court on Friday struck down the right to abortion in a seismic ruling that shredded five decades of constitutional protections and prompted several right-leaning states to impose immediate bans.
Protests almost immediately broke out in Washington and elsewhere, with dozens of demonstrations under way or planned across the country on Friday evening.
The conservative-dominated court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision enshrining a woman’s right to an abortion, saying individual states can restrict or ban the procedure themselves.
Photo: AFP
“The [US] Constitution does not confer a right to abortion,” the court said in a 6-3 ruling on one of the US’ most bitterly divisive issues.
“The authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives,” it said.
US President Joe Biden called the ruling a “tragic error” stemming from “extreme ideology,” and said it was a “sad day for the court and the country.”
Photo: Reuters
“The health and life of women in this nation are now at risk,” Biden said, adding that other rights could be threatened next, such as same-sex marriage or contraception.
The Democratic president urged the US Congress to restore abortion protections as federal law and said that Roe would be “on the ballot” in November’s midterm elections.
Hundreds of people — some weeping for joy and others with grief — gathered outside the fenced-off Supreme Court as the ruling came down.
“It’s hard to imagine living in a country that does not respect women as human beings and their right to control their bodies,” said Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat, 49, a mother of two daughters who was choking back tears.
“You have failed us,” a sign held up by one protester read.
“Shame,” another said.
However, Gwen Charles, a 21-year-old opponent of abortion, was jubilant.
“This is the day that we have been waiting for,” Charles said. “We get to usher in a new culture of life in the United States.”
Just hours after the ruling, Missouri banned abortion — making no exception for rape or incest — and so did South Dakota, except where the life of the mother is at risk.
“This is a monumental day for the sanctity of life,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said.
Protesters took to the streets in St Louis to decry the ban, gathering at what had been Missouri’s last abortion clinic.
“It’s absolutely disturbing,” said Lilian Dodenhoff, 32, standing outside the facility. “It doesn’t feel good. You’re just ... you know that you have to call on your friends. So I just immediately reached out to people that I knew shouldn’t be alone right now.”
As of Friday evening, at least seven states had already banned abortion — Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Dakota. Many more are expected to follow suit or severely restrict the procedure.
Criticism of the move also came from abroad, including from US allies including the UK, whose prime minister, Boris Johnson, called it “a big step backwards.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was “horrific,” and French President Emmanuel Macron voiced his “solidarity with women whose freedoms are today challenged.”
Acknowledging the international concerns, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that his department would “remain fully committed to helping provide access to reproductive health services and advancing reproductive rights around the world.”
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