On Saturday, thousands of people gathered on the streets of Washington D.C., risking arrest to protest the reversal of abortion rights last month.
The demonstration came two weeks after the Supreme Court repealed Roe v Wade, which guaranteed abortion rights nationwide for 50 years. An estimated 10,000 people gathered around the White House, chanting “we won’t go back.”
Lauren Pierce, an attorney from Dallas, was among them. “There’s nothing, to me, more worth fighting for than this cause – our fundamental right to have bodily autonomy,” she said. “If that means taking up space and getting arrested then I think it’s worth it.”
Anti-abortion campaigners, however, have celebrated the court’s decision. Many viewed the court’s decision as a measure to protect babies from being murdered.
Around 40 million women of reproductive age are expected to lose access to abortion in the coming weeks. Ten US states have already prohibited abortion, and at least a dozen more are expected to follow. In Texas, the average driving distance for a person seeking an abortion is 250 miles, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group.
Many of the protesters expressed frustration with President Biden and his administration for not doing more to protect abortion access, leading Mr. Biden to sign an executive order directing his health department to protect abortion care. This included the protection of access to abortion pills, emergency contraception, and safeguards for patient privacy.
However, the president’s power is limited. He can neither force through legislation in Congress nor undo the Supreme Court decision.
“We know there are limits to his authority, but we want him to push that authority to its limit,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March. “We’re calling on President Biden to continue to take steps to protect abortion nationally, and if he can’t do anything more from behind his desk he should get out into the streets.”
The demonstration came two weeks after the Supreme Court repealed Roe v Wade, which guaranteed abortion rights nationwide for 50 years. An estimated 10,000 people gathered around the White House, chanting “we won’t go back.”
Lauren Pierce, an attorney from Dallas, was among them. “There’s nothing, to me, more worth fighting for than this cause – our fundamental right to have bodily autonomy,” she said. “If that means taking up space and getting arrested then I think it’s worth it.”
Anti-abortion campaigners, however, have celebrated the court’s decision. Many viewed the court’s decision as a measure to protect babies from being murdered.
Around 40 million women of reproductive age are expected to lose access to abortion in the coming weeks. Ten US states have already prohibited abortion, and at least a dozen more are expected to follow. In Texas, the average driving distance for a person seeking an abortion is 250 miles, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group.
Many of the protesters expressed frustration with President Biden and his administration for not doing more to protect abortion access, leading Mr. Biden to sign an executive order directing his health department to protect abortion care. This included the protection of access to abortion pills, emergency contraception, and safeguards for patient privacy.
However, the president’s power is limited. He can neither force through legislation in Congress nor undo the Supreme Court decision.
“We know there are limits to his authority, but we want him to push that authority to its limit,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March. “We’re calling on President Biden to continue to take steps to protect abortion nationally, and if he can’t do anything more from behind his desk he should get out into the streets.”
