Opponents of anti-abortion bill rally in cities across US

DPA

Former vice president Joe Biden tweeted the #StopTheBans hashtag the organisers are using to promote the events

ABORTION rights supporters held protests on Tuesday in Washington and other major cities across the United States to voice opposition to newly passed restrictive abortion laws.

The demonstrations began at 12 pm (1600 GMT) as a debate over new state laws limiting the procedure intensified nationwide. Organisers said demonstrators would be “flooding the streets” in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Demonstrators outside the US Supreme Court in Washington held signs reading “Abortion is healthcare” and “My outrage will not fit on this sign.” Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio and Kentucky are among the states that recently enacted new antiabortion laws challenging the US Supreme Court ruling in 1973 that legalised abortion across the country. Many of the new laws immediately faced lawsuits, setting up a potential showdown in the country’s highest court.

Alabama’s new law goes even further, outlawing all abortions except for when the mother’s life is at risk. It says doctors who perform abortions can be sentenced to up to 99 years in prison.

Some Democrats who are running for president are supporting the rallies. Former vice president Joe Biden tweeted the #StopTheBans hashtag that the organisers are using to promote the events.