Battle for abortion rights hits America's streets
WASHINGTON, Oct 2, (AFP) - The abortion rights battle took to the streets across America Saturday, with hundreds of demonstrations as part of a new “Women's March” aimed at countering an unprecedented conservative offensive to restrict the termination of pregnancies.
The fight has become even more intense since Texas adopted a law on September 1 banning almost all abortions, unleashing a veritable legal guerrilla warfare and a counterattack in Congress, but with few public demonstrations until now.
Two days before the US Supreme Court, which will have the final say on the contentious issue, is due to reconvene, nearly 200 organisations have called on abortion rights defenders to make their voices heard from coast to coast. The flagship event was held in Washington, with a march to the Supreme Court, which nearly 50 years ago recognised the right of women to have an abortion in its landmark Roe v Wade ruling.
Now the court, stacked by former president Trump with conservative justices, seems ready to head in the opposite direction.