Roe v Wade: Albanese weighs in on decision; police fire tear gas at abortion protesters outside government building in Phoenix

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the controversial US Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision on abortion as a “setback” for women globally.

The US Supreme Court’s controversial decision to overturn a decades-long standing abortion ruling is a “setback” for women’s health and safety globally, says Anthony Albanese.

The Prime Minister said the overturning of Roe v Wade, which was a landmark 1973 court decision ruling that the US constitution generally protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion, was a “concern”.

“The concern that is there from women, I think globally, is that this is a setback for women’s health and for the issue of women’s safety as well,” he said.

“This is a decision which goes to the heart of a woman’s right to control her own body.”

Mr Albanese said those issues weren’t the “subject of partisan political debate in Australia”.

“And that’s a good thing,” he said.

“It’s good here that we don’t deal with it in the same way that has seen the division in the United States.”

TEARGAS FIRED ON ABORTION PROTESTERS

Abortion rights defenders fanned out across America Saturday for a second day of protest against the Supreme Court’s thunderbolt ruling, as state after conservative state moved swiftly to ban the procedure.

Protesters outside the Arizona State Senate building in Phoenix ran screaming when Riot Police fired tear gas from an upper level to disperse the crowd.

Riot Police use tear gas on the protest crowd at Arizona State Senate. Picture: Twitter AZ Right Wing Watch @az_rww

Government officials and staff were holed up in the building as protesters chanted outside and pounded on glass panels.

In downtown Iowa, a woman was hospitalised after a pick-up allegedly drove through protesters.

The deeply polarised 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.

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 that has drawn criticism across the world.

Stills from footage of a protest at the Arizona State Senate building. Picture: Twitter/Michelle Ugenti-RITA, @MichelleUgenti

Stills from footage of a protest at the Arizona state senate Picture: Twitter/Michelle Ugenti-RITA, @MichelleUgenti

Fuelling the mobilisation, 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.

President Joe Biden, who has likewise voiced concerns the court might not stop at abortion, spoke out again Saturday against its “shocking decision.”

“I know how painful and devastating the decision is for so many Americans,” said the president, who has urged Congress to restore abortion protections as federal law, and vowed the issue would be on the ballot in November’s midterm elections.

Women in states that severely restrict abortion or outlaw it altogether will either have to continue with their pregnancy, undergo a clandestine abortion, obtain abortion pills, or travel to another state where it remains legal.

“We are going to see some nightmare scenarios, sadly,” Biden’s spokeswoman Karine Jean Pierre told reporters on Air Force One, as the president headed to Europe for Group of Seven and NATO summits.

“That is not hypothetical,” she said.

PICK-UP DRIVES THROUGH PROTESTERS

Video appeared overnight showing a truck hitting protesters during a demonstration in Iowa.

One woman was hospitalised after the truck allegedly ran over her foot as other protesters ran to avoid being hit.

The protesters were crossing the street near the federal courthouse around 7.17pm local time when the woman was injured.

The collision came after verbal confrontations between the protesters and the driver who had allegedly decided to drive through the group at low speed.

Cedar Rapids Council member Ashley Vanorny was at the protest and tweeted about the incident.“ Tonight a truck jumped traffic + ploughed into peaceful protesters crossing the pedestrian walkway at the Federal Courthouse,” she wrote.

In an interview with The Sun, Vanorny said protesters walked around the city while chanting.

“Everything was peaceful. Everybody minded their Ps and Qs,” she said.

“As we were finishing up, literally the last leg of it, just crossing the street to get back where we had started, a truck decided to be impatient.

“I think it was completely unrelated to anything that we were there for, and it decided to jump out of line. They weren’t even the first (vehicle) at the stop and ploughed into people as they were crossing.”

A protester was injured by a truck in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday. Picture: Twitter

In its ruling, 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.

“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion,” the court said in a 6-3 ruling on one of America’s most bitterly divisive issues. “The authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

A sombre 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.” “The health and life of women in this nation are now at risk,” Biden said, warning that other rights could be threatened next, such as same-sex marriage and contraception.

A protester lights a cigarette on a burning American Flag while marching with abortion-rights activists in Washington, DC. Picture: Getty

The Democratic president urged Congress to restore abortion protections as federal law and said Roe will be “on the ballot” in November’s midterm elections.

Several Democratic-ruled states, anticipating an influx of patients, have already taken steps to facilitate abortion and three of them – California, Oregon and Washington – issued a joint pledge to defend access in the wake of the court’s decision.

Abortion providers said they had seen a surge in donations since the ruling, as they braced for the long hard road ahead.

“In the 24 hours following the court’s devastating decision, Planned Parenthood … saw a 40-fold total increase in donations compared to a typical day — more than half of whom are new donors,” Kelley Robinson, vice president of advocacy at the largest abortion provider in the United States, said in a statement to AFP.

“This is just the beginning, and we won’t back down,” she said.

Protesters in Denver, Colorado. Picture: Michael Ciaglo/Getty

‘YOU HAVE FAILED US’

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,” read a sign held up by one protester. “Shame,” said another.

But Gwen Charles, a 21-year-old opponent of abortion, was jubilant. “This is the day that we have been waiting for,” Charles told AFP.

“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 lawyer general Eric Schmitt said.

People gather to protest against the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health case in Raleigh, North Carolina. Picture: Getty

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. Protesters also marched in New York and Boston as anger over the Supreme Court decision grew.

“Abortion is a human right, not just for the rich and white,” protesters in New York chanted on Friday.

In Portland, Oregon, people march across the Hawthorne Bridge. Picture: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty

People gather to protest at Washington Square Park in New York City. Picture: Getty

Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul met the crowd at Union Square, telling reporters that New York would be a “safe harbour” for those unable to receive abortions in their own states.

“This is the most reactionary, most reactionary Supreme Court, probably in the history of our nation,” she said, adding that abortion rights were “secure” in New York.

“We took action already, we allocated $35 million to support our abortion providers to be able to help our sisters across this nation find their way here. This is their safe harbour.”

WORLD LEADERS REACT

Criticism of the move also came from abroad, including from US allies including Britain, whose Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it “a big step backwards.” Canada’s leader 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 insisted his department would “remain fully committed to helping provide access to reproductive health services and advancing reproductive rights around the world.”

Protesters gather in reaction to the announcement in Los Angeles, California. Picture: Getty

‘EGREGIOUSLY WRONG’

In the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito said Roe v. Wade was “egregiously wrong.” “Abortion presents a profound moral issue on which Americans hold sharply conflicting views,” he said. “The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion.” The court tossed out the legal argument in Roe v. Wade that women had the right to abortion based on the constitutional right to privacy with regard to their own bodies.

While the ruling represents a victory in the struggle against abortion by the religious right, leaders of the Christian conservative movement said it does not go far enough and they will push for a nationwide ban.

A sign covered in fake blood is seen on the ground as people gather to protest the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Portland, Oregon. Picture: Getty

“While it’s a major step in the right direction, overturning Roe does not end abortion,” said the group March for Life.

“God made the decision,” said former Republican president Donald Trump while praising the ruling.

The decision was made possible by Trump’s nomination to the court of three conservative justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

‘WILL NOT STOP THERE’

The three liberal justices on the court dissented from the ruling, which came a day after the court ushered in a major expansion of US gun rights.

“One result of today’s decision is certain: the curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens,” they said.

Abortion providers could now face criminal penalties and “some States will not stop there,” they warned.

“Perhaps, in the wake of today’s decision, a state law will criminalise the woman’s conduct too, incarcerating or fining her for daring to seek or obtain an abortion,” they said.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 13 states have adopted so-called “trigger laws” that will ban abortion virtually immediately.

Ten others have pre-1973 laws that could go into force or legislation that would ban abortion after six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.

Women in states with strict anti-abortion laws will either have to continue with their pregnancy, undergo a clandestine abortion, obtain abortion pills, or travel to another state where it remains legal.

Several Democratic-led states, anticipating an influx, have taken steps to facilitate abortion and three of them — California, Oregon and Washington — issued a joint pledge to defend access in the wake of the court’s decision.