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.
- In New Orleans, crowds gathered outside a courthouse to protest both the ruling itself and the state's newly enacted ban on nearly all abortions, which does not contain exemptions for cases of rape or incest.
- In Minneapolis, streams of protesters occupied the Washington Avenue Bridge.
- In D.C., Democratic members of Congress joined protesters in a march to the Supreme Court.
- In Houston, protesters chanted "Democrats we call your bluff; voting blue is not enough" after gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke (D) joined the rally.
- Thousands showed up to Washington Square Park with signs and banners in New York City.
- People in Northwest Arkansas took to the Fayetteville Town Square to call out the Supreme Court.
- 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