See Photos of Activists Celebrating, and Mourning, the End of <em>Roe v. Wade</em>
See Photos of Activists Celebrating, and Mourning, the End of Roe v. Wade
3 minute read
Protesters react as the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, overturning Roe v. Wade, is handed down at the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022.Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images
Activists gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court and rallied around the country on Friday, to either celebrate or mourn the decision by the court to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion.
The scene outside the nation’s highest court on Friday illustrated the country’s deep divisions over the issue of abortion. Abortion-rights opponents celebrated the decision, which marks the culmination of decades of conservative advocacy, and cheered the start of a “post-Roe generation.” In stark contrast, abortion-rights advocates decried the ruling as an unacceptable infringement on women’s rights and pledged to continue advocating for reproductive freedom, holding signs that read, “Abortion Saves Lives,” and, “We Were Never the Land of the Free.”
“These justices have manufactured a public-health crisis with a stroke of a pen,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, said during a press call on Friday. “Despite our best collective effort, it will not be enough to account for the massive need that will exist as half the country moves quickly to ban abortion.”
The 6-3 ruling by the court’s conservative majority in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization will reshape access to reproductive health care across the country. There are 22 states with laws that could be used to restrict abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, and 13 states already have “trigger laws” in place that will ban all or nearly all abortions in the coming days.
Abortion rights advocates have emphasized that the ruling will disproportionately harm low-income people and women of color, as abortion remains legal in most Democratic-leaning states but will be increasingly difficult to access for those who can’t afford to travel across state lines or take time off work.
“With sorrow—for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection—we dissent,” the court’s three liberal justices wrote in a dissenting opinion.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Congress to pass legislation to protect reproductive rights and emphasized the importance of the upcoming midterm elections. “It’s a slap in the face to women about using their own judgment to make their own decisions about their reproductive freedom,” she said, calling the ruling “outrageous and heart-wrenching.”
Here are some of the most poignant photographs from the public reaction to the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Anti-abortion demonstrators celebrate outside the United States Supreme Court as the court rules in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization abortion case in Washington, D.C., June 24, 2022.Evelyn Hockstein—ReutersAnti-abortion campaigners celebrate outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2022.Olivier Douliery—AFP/Getty ImagesAbortion-rights demonstrator outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2022.Samuel Corum—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesA women consoles her daughter as protesters gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday, June 24, 2022.Tasos Katopodis—UPI/ShutterstockMary Ann Berning reacts to the announcement of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade near the Women's Medical Center in Kettering, Ohio, June 24, 2022.Liz Dufour—The Cincinnati Enquirer/APAnti-abortion protesters celebrate following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2022.Gemunu Amarasinghe—APRick Rainville bows his head in prayer at a rally of abortion opponents organized by Sidewalk Advocates for Life outside the Power Family Health Center Planned Parenthood in Ann Arbor, Mich., on June 24, 2022.Jacob Hamilton—The Ann Arbor News/AP
Nadine Seller, 57, of Waldorf, Md., poses for a portrait in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., after it overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. Jason Andrew for TIMEProtesters react to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in front of the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2022.Jason Andrew for TIME
The Rev. Mike Frison leads a group in prayer at a rally of abortion opponents organized by Sidewalk Advocates for Life outside the Power Family Health Center Planned Parenthood in Ann Arbor, Mich., on June 24, 2022.Jacob Hamilton—The Ann Arbor News/APAbortion-rights advocates U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, from left, Kendyl Underwood, 20, and Brittany Nickens, 26, right, react outside Planned Parenthood of Missouri after the U.S. Supreme Court announced a decision overturning abortion protections in Roe vs Wade on June 24, 2022, in St. Louis.Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/APAbortion-rights activists react after the announcement in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling, in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022 in Washington, D.C.Anna Moneymaker—Getty ImagesRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joins abortion-rights activists as they demonstrate following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Washington, D.C., June 24, 2022.Jacquelyn Martin—APAnti-abortion demonstrators celebrate after the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade is announced, in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2022.Stephen Voss—ReduxLisa White and her daughter Della White, 6, lead participants in chant as people protest ruling overturning Roe v Wade in New Bedford, MA.Peter Pereira—The Standard-Times/Reuters
A detail of a sign at a protest in Washington Square Park in New York City on June 24, 2022.M. Levy for TIMEMindy Liu protests against the Supreme Court decision in Washington Square Park in New York City on June 24, 2022.
M. Levy for TIME
Protestors react to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in Washington Square Park in New York City on June 24, 2022.
M. Levy for TIMENatalie Polito at a rally in Washington Square Park in New York City, on June 24, 2022.M. Levy for TIME
The scene in front of the Supreme Court on June 24, 2022 in Washington, D.C.Jason Andrew for TIME
