Numerous people marched at rallies across all 50 states of America in support of abortion rights.
They have been aroused in disapproval of a new Texas law that strictly confines access to abortions in the region. And the pro-choice supporters from around the world are distressed that the constitutional rights may be called off.
In the next few months, the Supreme Court will be hearing a case that could overturn Roe v Wade – the 1973 verdict that legalised abortion countrywide.
Various protestors marched to the Supreme Court building in Washington DC, holding signs such as “Make abortion legal”.
Initially, the rally was interrupted by some two dozen counter-demonstrators.
“The blood of innocent babies is on your hands!” shouted one man, but his volume died down because of the singing and clapping of the crowd – reported the Washington newspaper.
Moreover, a woman attending the march said she was there to support a woman’s right to choose.
“While I’ve never been faced with that choice fortunately, there are many women who have and our government and men have no say in the outcome when it comes to our bodies,” Robin Horn told Reuters news agency.
The people who organise the annual Women’s March were behind organising these rallies. The annual Women’s March was the first rally that drew millions of people to protest a day after the appointment of former President Donald Trump in 2017.
“This is kind of a break-glass moment for folks all across the country,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, the executive director of Women’s March.
“Many of us grew up with the idea that abortion would be legal and accessible for all of us,” she added. “Seeing that at very real risk has been a moment of awakening.”
In addition to this, Governor Kathy Hochul spoke at two rallies in the state of New York.
“I’m sick and tired of having to fight over abortion rights,” she said. “It’s settled law in the nation and you are not taking that right away from us, not now not ever”.
One of the rallies was organised in Austin, Texas. Here the state’s legislature on 1 September passed a law banning terminations. It happened after the detection of a foetal heartbeat – a point when many women do not know they are pregnant.
This Heartbeat Act also gives a person the right to take legal action against doctors who perform an abortion past the six-week point. According to the supporters its aim is to protect the unborn child.
Numerous officials from various other Republican-dominated states are considering similar restrictions.
Rights groups on the other hand asked the Supreme Court to block the Texas law, but the justices ruled 5-4 against granting this.
On 1 December the court is set to hear a challenge to Mississippi’s 15-week ban on abortion. The result could turn over the court’s 1973 momentous Roe v Wade ruling, which protects a woman’s right to an abortion until feasibility.
It means the point at which a foetus is able to live outside the womb, usually at the start of the third trimester, 28 weeks into a pregnancy.
