US Abortion Law | Ground Report: Huge Protests at SC After Overturning of Roe

"This is going to kill women. This is going to kill trans people," a protester told The Quint.

Protests have erupted across the United States after the Supreme Court on Friday, 24 June, overturned Roe vs Wade, a landmark case that constitutionally protected abortion rights for almost 50 years in the country.

(Photo: Smiti Mathur/altered by Namita Chauhan of The Quint)

Video Producer: Mamta Yadav

Video Editor: Pawan Kumar

Additional Video Inputs: Shivali Shankar, graduate student, JHU SAIS

Protests have erupted across the United States after the Supreme Court on Friday, 24 June, overturned Roe vs Wade, a landmark case that constitutionally protected abortion rights for almost 50 years in the country.

Restrictions on abortions are expected to be imposed in about half of the states in the country, which are ruled by the Republican Party.

The US Supreme Court witnessed a huge protest outside the building just a few hours after the ruling was reported in the media.

The Quint spoke to some of the protesters, who expressed their anger, grief, and fear, as they rallied for abortion rights to be restored.

‘This Is Going To Kill Women’

"So, I guess I'm feeling really angry. This is going to kill women. This is going to kill trans people," Alice, a protestor outside the SC told The Quint.

"This is going to make people have forced births that they are not signing up for," she added.

Pro-choice advocates have been arguing for a long time that it is impossible to "ban" abortions. It is only possible to ban safe abortions because now several people would turn to unsafe options.

"The Supreme Court clearly does not care about women's rights or anyone with reductive parts," said Sarah Montesclaros.

"We see the empire falling, before our eyes," she added with a sad smile.

Six justices of the SC ruled in favour of overturning Roe vs Wade. Three of them – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett – were appointed by former US President Donald Trump.

"I'm so worried about the impact, the impact on people and access issues. But it doesn't even hold together, it's what they want and they're going to make it happen," lamented Suzanna Weiss, a protester standing among many others in front of the Supreme Court.

'No More Privacy'

"This decision was very irresponsible of the court because they are essentially taking away 50 years of precedent," a graduate student from Georgetown University named Robin told The Quint.

"And that can be very detrimental to other rights that have been decided by the Supreme Court," she added, giving examples of same-sex marriage and the usage of contraceptions.

Robin was referring to Justice Clarence Thomas' remarks in his opinion regarding the overturn of Roe, in which he said that the right of married couples to buy and use contraception without government interference, as guaranteed by the landmark ruling of Griswold vs Connecticut (1965), was, like the provisions of the Roe ruling, "demonstrably erroneous."

Katie Kelly, another enraged protester, emphasised that "by overturning this (Roe vs Wade), we have no more privacy. This could overturn a lot of gay rights. This could overturn a lot of healthcare bills.

"This is unacceptable."

Indeed, the Supreme Court while ruling on Roe in 1973 had argued that outlawing abortions would violate a pregnant woman's right to privacy.

Rachel, standing with her friend Makaila, told The Quint that "this was one of the monumental decisions that have ever come out. One of our constitutional liberties have been taken away from us."

"Nothing is protected these days anymore," said Makaila, concurring with her friend's views.

'Women Are Not Incubators'

Sunsara Taylor, with the Supreme Court directly behind her, looking straight at the camera, said that "we need to demand from the federal government that they restore legal abortions nationwide now."

Calling this decision "illegitimate," Taylor asserted that "this must not stand."

"Women are not incubators."

Roe's overturning is expected to radically transform the lives of women across the country. A future without Roe looks grim, especially for the those who are socially and economically downtrodden.

Now, due to the powers that states possess, their legislatures would be able to individually determine the legality of abortion within their territory.

Certain state legislatures (all of them Republican-ruled) have passed what is known as "trigger laws," which were bracing for Roe's overturn to commence a ban on almost all abortions.