US Abortion Rights Activists Begin ‘Summer of Rage’ with Saturday Protests


Some abortion rights demonstrators, including Hannah Yost, center right, argue with a man who identified himself as Joe Green, who is against abortion, after a protective fence was installed against climbing outside the US Supreme Court building in Washington. USA, May 5, 2022. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File photo

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WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) – Abortion rights advocates will protest in cities across the United States on Saturday, kicking off what organizers said would be “a summer of fury” if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade who legalized abortion. on a national scale.

Planned Parenthood, Women’s March and other abortion rights groups organized more than 300 “Bans Our Bodies” marches for Saturday, with the largest turnout expected in New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles and Chicago. .

The demonstrations are in response to the May 2 leak of a draft opinion showing the court’s conservative majority is ready to reverse the landmark 1973 decision that established a federal constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.

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The court’s final ruling, which could give states the power to ban abortion, is expected in June. Roughly half of US states could ban or severely restrict abortion soon after a ruling vacated Roe. read more

Organizers said they anticipated hundreds of thousands of people turning out for Saturday’s events, which they said would be the first of many coordinated protests around the Supreme Court decision.

“For the women of this country, this will be a summer of rage,” said Rachel Carmona, president of the Women’s March. “We will be ungovernable until this government starts working for us, until the attacks on our bodies stop, until the right to abortion is codified into law.”

Democrats, who currently hold the White House and both houses of Congress, hope the backlash to the Supreme Court decision will lead their party’s candidates to victory in November’s midterm elections. read more

But voters will weigh abortion rights against other issues, such as rising food and gasoline prices, and may be skeptical of Democrats’ ability to protect abortion access after the failed elections. efforts to pass legislation that would enshrine the right to abortion in federal law. read more

On Saturday, protesters in New York City plan to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, while protesters in Washington will gather at the Washington Monument and then head to the Supreme Court. The Los Angeles protesters planned to meet at City Hall, and a group in Austin was to meet at the Texas state capitol.

Last week, protesters gathered outside the homes of Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh, who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to the leaked opinion.

Students for Life of America, an anti-abortion advocacy group with college chapters across the country, said it would hold counter-protests Saturday in nine US cities, including Washington.

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Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Edited by Colleen Jenkins and Cynthia Osterman

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.



Reference-www.reuters.com

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