Jun 24, 2022 - Health

Protests break out across U.S. after Roe v. Wade is struck down

Photo of a row of protesters holding a sign that says "Bans off our bodies"

Abortion rights demonstrators gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 24. Photo: Yasin Oztürk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Thousands took to the streets across the nation on Friday to protest the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, as red states enacted trigger laws and blue states raced to protect abortion rights.

Why it matters: The ruling effectively made abortion immediately illegal in 13 states and cast a shadow over the future of abortion rights across the nation.

Driving the news: In Phoenix, a crowd of pro-abortion protesters gathered outside of the State Capitol on Friday. Some tried to enter the building, and police used tear gas in response, per a tweet from Arizona Senate Republicans. The gas seeped into the building, forcing lawmakers who were weighing an unrelated measure to call a recess.

  • Hundreds of people assembled in front of the Georgia state Capitol to protest the decision alongside state legislators.

The big picture: The Supreme Court's Friday ruling grants states the legal authority to ban the procedure at any point in pregnancy — including at fertilization, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez writes.

  • Without the Roe precedent, penalties for abortion providers are expected to become more severe. Abortion rights advocates fear states could grow more forceful in targeting patients who seek abortions.
  • The U.S. joins only three other countries — El Salvador, Nicaragua and Poland — in rolling back abortion rights since 1994, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Go deeper: How late in pregnancy each state allows abortions

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