Protests erupt across US after Supreme Court abortion ruling

Washington: Women’s reproductive rights will be severely curtailed in the US after the Supreme Court overturned a landmark law that guaranteed women the constitutional right to an abortion.

In a widely expected but highly contentious decision, the court has adopted a draft opinion, leaked earlier this year, to overturn Roe v Wade - the 1973 case ruling that for the past 50 years has ensured women had a federal right to access abortion services.

The decision led to instant demonstrations across the country, from Los Angeles to New York, and to bans in several states which now have authority over the right of women to seek terminations.

Charlie Wayne, left, Jasper Nieves and other demonstrators advocate for a woman’s right to an abortion in Roanoke, Virginia.Credit: Roanoke Times/AP

Most demonstrations were peaceful, but in Phoenix, Arizona, police fired tear gas from the windows of the Arizona Capitol building to disperse hundreds of people, while legislators briefly huddled in a basement, AP reported.

Almost half of all states will now either ban or severely restrict abortion. Several have so-called “trigger bills” that will go into effect and make the procedure illegal.

Missouri was the first to announce it was invoking its trigger ban after the court ruling. It was followed by bans in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. In Alabama, three abortion clinics instantly stopped providing services - except in cases where the mother’s health is at risk. In some states, women showing up for appointments formed lines outside clinics while doctors and owners tried to work out where they stood on bans.

“Today, the overruling of Roe and Casey permits Missouri to renew its proud pro-life traditions and restore basic legal protection for the most fundamental of human rights - the right to life,” the state’s Attorney-General Eric Schmitt wrote.

The Supreme Court ruling was written by Justice Samuel Alito, the same judge who authored the draft leaked to Politico last month. He was joined by conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett - the last three being all appointees of former president Donald Trump.

“Abortion presents a profound moral question,” read the court ruling. “The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey (a 1992 decision that reaffirmed federal abortion rights) arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.”

Within an hour of the ruling on Friday (Saturday AEST), the street outside the court was filled with demonstrators either protesting or celebrating the decision.

While pro-life activists were thrilled - many screaming and dancing with joy - critics say the ruling represents one of the most damaging setbacks to the rights of women in America’s history.

Crowds outsdie Supreme Court after its decision to overturn Roe v. WadeCredit: AP

President Joe Biden said it was “a sad day for the court and for the country” and described the court’s action as “the realisation of extreme ideology”.

“Now with Roe gone, let’s be very clear: the health and life of women of this nation are now at risk,” he said.

Pro-choice groups agreed, warning the court’s decision could lead to more unsafe procedures, result in unwanted pregnancies, or place pressure on the states that continue to offer services as more people turn to them for treatment.

“Utter chaos lies ahead, as some states race to the bottom with criminal abortion bans, forcing people to travel across multiple state lines and, for those without means to travel, carry their pregnancies to term - dictating their health, lives, and futures,” said Nancy Northup, president of the Centre for Reproductive Rights.

Competing protesters clash outside Planned Parenthood in Missouri following the Supreme Court announcement overturning Roe v Wade.Credit: AP

Another restrictive state is Oklahoma, where the Republican government recently introduced new laws prohibiting nearly all abortions starting at fertilisation, accompanied by a bounty-hunting scheme encouraging members of the public to sue those involved in abortions and rewarding them with at least $US10,000 ($14,400) if their lawsuit is successful.

In his ruling, Alito reiterated his view that the law was “egregiously wrong” and “on a collision course with the constitution from the day it was decided”.

The court’s three Democratic appointees – Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan - filed a joint dissent, writing that “whatever the exact scope of the coming laws, one result of today’s decision is certain: the curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens”.

The Justices of the US Supreme Court. Credit: AP

Chief Justice John Roberts took a more nuanced view, voting with the conservative majority but stopping short of overruling Roe v Wade outright.

The decision has set the scene for an explosive showdown between pro-choice and pro-life activists in the lead up to November’s midterm elections, and has paved the way for even deeper divisions across the country.

Trump praised the court’s decision, telling Fox News: “This is following the constitution, and giving rights back when they should have been given long ago. I think, in the end, this is something that will work out for everybody.”

Crowds outside the US Supreme CourtCredit: AP

His former vice president, Mike Pence, who is also seen as a contender for the 2024 presidential nomination, went one step further, calling for a national ban.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell described the ruling as “courageous and correct”, while Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was “a slap in the face to women”.

Former president Barack Obama also weighed in, issuing a statement saying: “Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues - attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.”

Michelle Obama released a long statement on social media, saying her heart ached.

“I am heartbroken for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their own bodies [...] That is what our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived through and now here we are again,” the former first lady wrote.

She was joined by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who described the ruling as “incredibly upsetting”. Ardern said seeing American women lose the right to choose felt “like a loss for women everywhere”.

Tensions were already high in the lead up to the ruling, with steel fencing installed around the Supreme Court last month ahead of potential unrest and security beefed up to protect the nine justices of the court.

Last month, a man was also arrested near the Maryland home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh over an alleged attempt to assassinate him.

One man, John, who did not wish to give his surname, was standing in the crowd outside the Supreme Court holding a sign that said: “Save our Democracy. Pack the court. Do it Now.”

“I’m here because I’m angry, all the women I know are angry, and my fiance is absolutely infuriated,” he told The Age/Sydney Morning Herald. “I strongly favour packing the court - expanding the size of the court to ensure that it reflects the thinking of the majority of Americans.”

A few meters down the street, Shannon Russell was standing with a group of friends from the organisation Catholics for Choice, holding a sign that said: “Thou Shalt Not Steal My Civil Rights”.

Shannon Russell and friends outside the US Supreme CourtCredit: Farrah Tomazin

“It often surprises people when I tell them that 68 per cent of Catholics support Roe v Wade and one in four abortion patients identify as Catholics,” Russell said.

“So we need to start listening to people who have abortions and who need abortion care, and to stop stigmatising them. And we can no longer trust these justices over there to uphold even our most basic fundamental rights, so we have to take our fight to Congress and the President.”

The decision was based on a Mississippi case known as Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organisation, which relates to a law that banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. This law overturned the protections afforded by Roe v Wade, which determined that every person has the right to end a pregnancy before viability, which is typically around 24 weeks. An abortion clinic in Mississippi sued, and that led to the case eventually making its way to the Supreme Court last December.

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