It was their first march by way of the US capital for the reason that Supreme Courtroom gave them what they’d been demanding for half a century, however for anti-abortion activists gathered in Washington on Friday, the temper was extra dogged than triumphant.
Seven months after the nation’s highest judicial physique eliminated federal protections for nationwide abortion entry, protesters outdoors the conservative-led establishment allowed themselves a modest victory lap, however most have been targeted on the fights forward.
“We now have lots of work to do,” stated George Muench, a 74-year-old Catholic in a “March for Life” hat.
The march started in 1974 as a problem to Roe v. Wade, a landmark Supreme Courtroom ruling the earlier yr that assured the best of American ladies to terminate their pregnancies.
Roe v Wade
Each January, activists from throughout the US have descended upon the capital to stroll to the courthouse’s iconic entrance steps to induce the justices inside to reverse that call.
On June 24 final yr they received their want. The excessive court docket, which had lurched to the best underneath hardline Republican former president Donald Trump, relented, giving states the liberty to pursue their very own abortion bans.
Greater than a dozen states instantly rushed to do precisely that.
As decided as Friday’s “March for Life” crowd was, their place is within the minority in trendy America.
Referendums on reproductive rights held since June have all been received by abortion rights advocates, together with in conservative states like Kansas and Kentucky.
From Sunday, the fiftieth anniversary of the Roe v. Wade determination, the opposite aspect will get its flip with pro-abortion rights demonstrators planning to rally in cities throughout the nation.
