PROTESTS have erupted across several cities in the US after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark ruling Roe v Wade on Friday.
The 5-4 decision will leave the issues of abortion up to state legislators, which will ultimately result in a total ban on the procedure in about half of the states.
Associate Justice Samuel Alito was joined in his opinion by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Huge crowds of protestors gathered outside the Supreme Court and in multiple cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco and New York City.
NYPD officers are beefing up patrols in preparation for protests in Washington Square Park and Union Square in Manhattan.
“NYPD Intelligence Bureau personnel have observed threat actors espousing a range of violent ideologies — including single-issue extremism, anti-government/anti-fascist extremism, and racially/ethnically motivated violent extremism,” read a memo from the department.
ROE V WADE
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Right to abortion in US OVERTURNED by Supreme Court as cops brace for protests
A spokesperson for the department said they are in “constant contact with our Intelligence Bureau and our federal partners and we are monitoring the threat stream for any indicators.”
Protests were also planned in Florida, Missouri, Georgia and Texas for Friday evening.
Workers in Dallas were seen boarding up windows on federal buildings and placing fencing around the perimeter as protestors urged others online to “wear a mask and nondescript clothing” while demonstrating.
Police spokesperson Melinda Gutierrez said officers are prepared to arrest demonstrators if “any type of criminal offense” is committed against “any person or property.”
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“The Dallas Police Department will not interfere with a lawful and peaceful assembly of any individuals or groups expressing their First Amendment rights. We will be monitoring events, and those who participate will see our patrols as they always do at large events,” she said.
Fences surrounding the Supreme Court were placed ahead of the decision in the event that protests could possibly turn violent.
Videos on social media showed buildings in downtown Washington, DC being boarded up following the decision.
The US Department of Homeland Security warned that threats of political violence, especially those against judges and state officials, are likely to “intensify” following the court’s decision.
“Americans’ freedom of speech and right to peacefully protest are fundamental Constitutional rights. Those rights do not extend to violence and other illegal activity,” the statement read.
“DHS will continue working with our partners across every level of government to share timely information and to support law enforcement efforts to keep our communities safe.”
COURT'S RULING
In Friday's ruling, Alito called Roe "egregiously wrong from the start".
He said the Constitution "does not confer a right to abortion," declaring that the decision should ultimately be left to the state to regulate.
"Abortion presents a profound moral question The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion.
"Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. The Court overrules those decisions and returns that authority to the people and their elected representatives."
The states that may implement total or near-total abortion restrictions include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Democrat-appointed Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented.
“With sorrow—for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection—we dissent,” they wrote.
At the same time, the court voted 6-3 to uphold a Mississippi law that bans all abortion past 15 weeks, with very few medical exceptions.
BIDEN SPEAKS
President Joe Biden addressed the matter in a speech from The White House.
The president called the court's determination " a tragic error and cruel," saying it's sent America back "150 years."
"Today is a very solemn moment for the United States. The Supreme Court expressly took away a Constitutional right from the American people that it had already recognized," Biden said.
"They simply took it away. That's never been done to a right that is so important to so many Americans.
"It's a sad day for the court and the country. Women have the power to control their destiny. With Roe gone, let's be very clear, the health and life of women in this nation are now at risk."
He continued: "The court literally taking America back 150 years. This is a sad day for the country, but it doesn't mean the fight is over.
"Let me be very clear and unambiguous, the only way we can secure a women's right to choose is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade as federal law.
"If Congress, as it appears, lacks the votes to do that now, voters need to make their voices heard."
The president called for peaceful protests after the court's shocking decision, saying: "I call on everyone, no matter how deeply they care about this decision, to keep all protests peaceful.
"No intimidation. Violence is never acceptable."
ROE V. WADE
Before it landed in front of the Supreme Court, the historic case stemmed from a 1969 lawsuit filed by an unmarried, pregnant woman.
The woman, who wanted to terminate her pregnancy, sued a Texas district attorney in an effort to challenge an abortion ban in the state, which only allowed for an abortion if the woman’s life was at risk.
The case worked through the courts and finally reached the highest court.
In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled against the Texas law, issuing a majority decision that prevented all US states from enacting abortion laws that infringed on a mother’s ability to terminate her pregnancy in the first trimester.
As a result of the ruling, abortion bans already on the books were rendered null and void.
Moving forward, states “could only enact abortion regulations reasonably related to maternal health in the second and third trimesters, and could enact abortion laws protecting the life of the fetus only in the third trimester,” according to PBS.
The Supreme Court's decision changed the national landscape for abortion access by unilaterally voiding state bans.
But in the nearly 50 years since, subsequent court rulings and dozens of new laws have chipped away at abortion rights.
Recent laws have brought the issue of abortion back to the nation’s highest court.
A Mississippi law enacted in 2018 made it illegal for a woman to obtain an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
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The state’s sole medical clinic that provides abortions filed a lawsuit against the legislation.
That case — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health — landed before the Supreme Court in December 2021.
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