WASHINGTON, D.C. — Reaction came fast and furious Friday after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling guaranteeing a constitutional right to an abortion.
Anger and dismay erupted first outside the Supreme Court in moments after the decision was announced.
Quickly, it spread eastward as devastated abortion-rights protesters across the country railed against the conservative justices who wiped away a half-century of precedent and made access to abortions all but impossible in many states.
Protests played out on the plaza in front of the federal building in downtown Chicago, outside the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, and across from the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison, where thousands of outraged protesters carried signs and chanted “My body! My choice!” In Flint, Michigan, hundreds blocked the sidewalks in front of the Genesee County Prosecutor’s office.
“I’m expecting at least tens of thousands of people in outpourings across the country tonight,” said Texas organizer Coco Das, who is a member of the Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights group.
In Texas, organizer Coco Das described the anger as “visceral.”
“I’m expecting at least tens of thousands of people in outpourings across the country tonight,” said Das, who is a member of the Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights group.
As Das spoke, police equipped with riot shields and wearing helmets were deployed to courthouses and other gathering spots across the country wherever protesters were gathering.
In New York City, thousands of protesters gathered in Manhattan's Union Square and began marching downtown for Washington Square Park.
"Abortion is health care, health care is a right,” many in the crowd chanted.
One of the protesters was 16-year-old Anura Bracey, who was carrying a sign that read "Overturn Roe? Hell No."
“I’m enraged," Bracey said. "I’m terrified for what this means for birthing people in the country."
Bracey said she feels lucky to live in a state where the right to an abortion is still protected but said she fears the Supreme Court could take aim at other rights including marriage equality.
"So I’m just here to get my rage out," Bracey said. "I want someone to listen to us. I don’t know how much this is really going to do, but I just feel very desperate.”