This is the end of the constitutional protection of the right to abortion in the United States. The Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, has decided that it is now up to the states to legislate on this subject. Even if they expected it, many Americans in favor of the right to abortion are shocked. They demonstrated in many cities across the country on Friday, June 24, when seven states have already banned abortion.
In New York, there were several thousand on Washington Square in Manhattan, where our correspondent went Lubna Anaki.
Judy Bryer is an angry old lady. She, who was arrested several times while demonstrating for abortion rights in the late 1960s, finds it difficult to remain calm today. ” I would never have imagined that we would come to this, 50 years later! I am disgusted to see what this country has become. »
In the crowd, everyone stresses the urgency of acting, for abortion, but not only. ” All of these decisions show the power wielded by this racist supremacist court. They are determined to attack everything from contraception to gay marriage. The future of the United States may be crazy. »
In New York, access to abortion remains protected by state law and local authorities. But this refuge status is not enough to reassure or lessen the shock of the Supreme Court’s decision. Especially since this same Court canceled, Thursday, the restrictions on the carrying of weapons in force in New York. ” We are wondering if the states will be able to maintain these pro-abortion laws. There are no guarantees! fears a woman.
The calls to demonstrate should continue for the next few days.
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“It will be Colorado”
In Washington, it was in front of the Supreme Court that they gathered, observed Guillaume Naudin, permanent special envoy of RFI in the capital of the United States. They are several hundred throughout this day of Friday to shout, to sing to express their anger in front of the fence which surrounds the highest American court.
Debbie Johnson is 63 years old. All her adult life, she has known the constitutional right to abortion and it comes as a shock to her: “ It’s such a terrible feeling to think that this freedom I’ve had for years and years to access the health care I needed will no longer exist. And I have a 27 year old daughter. I am here for her and for her friends. »
Debbie Johnson is from Oklahoma, one of the states that want to ban abortion. For women in his state who want abortions, they will have to go elsewhere. ” It’ll be Colorado now, she says. Texas, of course, is going to ban, like Kansas. It will be Colorado, a day’s drive away. »
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Colorado is the state of Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette. A few hundred meters further, she speaks to activists to encourage them to vote in the next elections: “ We all have the right to abortion. We all have the right to health care and we will let politicians know this in November. »
The Democrats and Joe Biden in the lead want to make abortion an issue in the next midterm elections. ” It’s too late for this decision, but it’s not too late for others, hopes Anna Davonzo, who came to demonstrate. As the president said in his speech earlier, the midterm elections are coming. And a lot of people are running for these elections, for these offices, have the opportunity to change these decisions in the states, to protect these rights at the state level. So I think it’s really important that people continue to mobilize and keep this energy going until the midterm elections. It’s not over. 50 years ago, there were people like my mother or my grandmother, people who were fighting for this decision, so we can’t let it end like this. »
The State Department will remain fully committed to facilitating access to reproductive health services and promoting reproductive health rights around the world “, said the Secretary of State declared Friday the head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken in a press release.
In Texas, abortion procedures interrupted on the spot
After the Supreme Court decision, a handful of states immediately seized the revocation of the judgment Roe vs. Wade by the Supreme Court. Missouri was the first, but also the Mississippi. A little further south, in Texas, a “trigger law”, a “trigger law” on abortion, was triggered when the institution announced: in thirty days, abortion will be totally prohibited even in case of rape or incest. Since September 2021, this emblematic state of the conservative South had already restricted the possibility of abortion.
Our correspondent in Houston, Thomas Harmswent to the Women’s Clinic, the largest abortion clinic in Houston and fourth in the United States, there are those who are dismayed, like Jo-Ann, who came immediately after her night shift: “ It’s really disgusting, because I don’t think it’s okay to trust the same motherfuckers with women’s health who think abortion is only for bitches and whores. »
And there are those who are jubilant, like this fundamentalist Catholic activist, Erika Martinez: “ I am happy, I am very happy with this decision which will save lives. I cried, I cried with emotion. »
A banner above the clinic door reads: Houston Women’s Clinic no longer provides abortions “.
At the time of the decision, in the establishment, the disarray is enormous, everyone started to cry.
The midwives, but also the patients who came for an operation and were asked by the team to go home: ” I told them : “We are really sorry for the Supreme Court’s decision, but abortion is now illegal in Texas. So we will not be able to continue the abortion procedure,” explains Candy, a nurse in this clinic for a year. ” Some didn’t believe it, others cried, others were angry… Which is understandable, their emotions are legitimate. »
These women are referred to organizations (Abortion Federation or Reproductive Rights) which can help them to go to another state and to funds which can finance their transportation.