For the third consecutive day, supporters of the right to abortion mobilized to protest against the decision of the Supreme Court to annul what many considered to be an acquired right. A candlelight vigil was scheduled for Sunday evening in front of the high court, near the Capitol.
In a country fragmented between States which have already or will soon deny the right to abortion, which had been guaranteed since 1973, and those which will maintain it, even strengthen it, differences of opinion have sometimes turned into a scuffle during protests over the weekend, prompting dozens of arrests.
– Contraception, abortion pill –
Within hours Friday, at least eight states immediately made all abortions illegal and seven more are planning to do the same in the coming weeks.
Missouri was the first to pull the trigger, with a total ban, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Republican Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson ruled on NBC that his state, where a similar measure was passed, and others should now focus on helping mothers and newborns by expanding health services. ‘adoption.
This conservative welcomed the return to the states of decisions on abortion, but he opposed any effort by the Republican party to ban abortion at the federal level or try to reduce access to contraception.
“In Arkansas, the right to birth control is important,” he said. “It is recognized. We will not touch it”.
Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem called the dropping of “Roe v. Wade” “wonderful news for the defense of life,” but said she expects a lot of “debate and discussion.” ” in his State and elsewhere on future legislation.
She said she was in favor of laws prohibiting “telemedicine abortions”, an allusion to abortion pills prescribed in teleconsultation, a practice approved by the American drug agency, the FDA.
– “Appalling” –
For their part, supporters of the right to abortion quickly mobilized. The family planning organization Planned Parenthood launched legal proceedings in Utah on Saturday to try to block the automatic implementation of a law that would ban almost all abortions and criminalize health professionals who practice it.
In Wisconsin, where an 1849 law prohibiting abortion except for women whose lives would be at stake is likely to come into force, Democratic Governor Tony Evers has promised to pardon any doctor who is prosecuted.
In the state of Michigan, whose Congress is controlled by Republicans, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has promised to “fight with all her might” to protect women’s rights. She too went to court to prevent the implementation of a law prohibiting abortion.
On CNN, Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia, Stacey Abrams, noted that her state would ban all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in the coming days. “It’s appalling and it’s a mistake, and if I’m governor, I will do everything possible to reverse it.”
In the states where the laws are the strictest, women will have the choice between keeping the baby, undergoing a clandestine abortion, obtaining abortion pills or going to a state where abortion will remain legal.
For elected progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, nightmare situations will multiply. “Forcing women to continue pregnancies against their will is going to kill them, it’s going to kill them,” she exclaimed on NBC.
She suggested that the Biden administration open family planning clinics on federal lands in abortion-banning states.
According to a poll published Sunday by CBS, a majority of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court’s decision: 59% of those polled and 67% of women oppose it. In addition, 52% of those polled thought it was a setback for the United States, while 31% thought it was progress.
