Roe v. Wade: U.S. ruling sparks protests around abortion access

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion has sparked protests across America.

The landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling made it possible for women to obtain legal abortions in the United States for nearly 50 years. Now, it is up to individual states to make their own rules.

Among the protests were people who support abortion rights, as well as those who are against abortion.

“Abortion is health care and if the Supreme Court is going to strike down the right to privacy and the right for women to access health care, I think that sets a very dangerous precedent for everyone,” said Sarah Bently, who was among a large crowd outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. and called the ruling a gut punch.

While many descended on the Supreme Court in D.C., protests also formed in many of America’s major cities.

From New York to L.A. and many cities in between, there were signs and banners urging the protection of reproductive rights. And then there were also celebrations, with anti-abortion activists marking a victory with the Supreme Court’s decision.

Tensions have flared in various states. Arizona lawmakers were forced to hide in a basement for a time while police fired tear gas into a crowd after thousands of demonstrators — split between those who support and oppose abortion rights — gathered outside the state Capitol Friday night.

In West Virginia, at least 200 abortion supporters gathered Friday night for a candlelight vigil in front of the federal courthouse after the state’s last abortion clinic was forced to cancel all of its appointments.

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On Friday, hours after the ruling came down, U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the nation, saying “it’s not hyperbole to suggest (it was) a very solemn moment.”

“Today, the Supreme Court of the United States expressly took away a constitutional right from the American people that it already recognized. They didn’t limit it — they simply took it away. That’s never been done to a right so important to so many Americans. But they did it. It’s a sad day for the court and for the country,” Biden said in his speech.

The Supreme Court decision also sparked outcry from the international community. In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the news “horrific,” adding his “heart goes out to the millions of American women who are now set to lose their legal right to an abortion.”

“I can’t imagine the fear and anger you are feeling right now,” he said in a tweet moments after the decision.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron also took to Twitter, calling abortion “a fundamental right for all women,” adding it’s a right that “must be protected.

“I wish to express my solidarity with the women whose liberties are being undermined by the Supreme Court of the United States,” the French president wrote.

There is concern the high court’s decision guaranteeing abortion rights is just the beginning of the undermining of other human rights. Already there is talk of reversing same-sex marriage and even cases involving contraception.