Texas law sparks hundreds of U.S. protests against abortion restrictions

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WASHINGTON / AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 2 (Reuters) – Women marched by the thousands outside the Supreme Court, the Texas Capitol, and cities across the United States on Saturday to protest and advocate increasing government restrictions on abortion Maintaining a constitutional right to institute proceedings.

The 660 demonstrations in the US were largely sparked by a Texas law prohibiting abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. The measure, which came into force last month, is the most restrictive in the country.

“No matter where you live, no matter where you are, this moment is dark,” Planned Parenthood president Alexis McGill Johnson told the crowd at the Washington “rally for abortion justice”.

Hundreds of people gathered in the sweltering heat in the Texas capital, Austin, to denounce the so-called “Heartbeat” law signed by Governor Greg Abbott. It prohibits abortion after heart activity has been detected in the embryo, usually around six weeks. That is, before most women know they are pregnant and before 85 to 90% of all abortions are performed, experts say.

The law relies on ordinary citizens to enforce the ban, which makes no exceptions for rape or incest, and rewards them at least $ 10,000 if they successfully sue anyone who contributed to an illegal abortion.

Some protesters said the law would backfire on lawmakers. “I think more people believe in safe abortion than our lawmakers realize,” said Andrea Roberts, 49, an Austin preschool director.

“Abort Abbott” appeared on several protesters’ signs and T-shirts, while others wore the Texas state slogan “Come and Take It” next to a drawing of a uterus.

Protesters in Washington marched two days outside the US Supreme Court for a session where judges will be discussing a Mississippi case that could allow them to overturn the abortion rights established in the groundbreaking Roe v. Wade from 1973.

If the court lifted the precedent, access to abortion would no longer be protected by the constitution, leaving states free to prohibit, restrict, or allow it without restrictions.

Proponents of reproductive choice participate in the statewide women’s march held after Texas introduced a near-complete ban on abortion procedures and access to abortion-inducing drugs on October 2, 2021 in Houston, Texas. REUTERS / Go Nakamura

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The judges already rejected a request from abortion and women’s health services to block enforcement of Texas law in a ruling from September 5-4.

“It’s cruel and definitely not Christian,” Kenya Martin of the nonprofit abortion care network told several thousand protesters in Washington.

Under sunny skies, the protesters carried signs reading “Prohibit my body”, “Think outside the box” and “Keep your rosaries off my ovaries”.

“We’re going in the wrong direction,” said Katy Allen, a 67-year-old university researcher from Rochester, New York. “It’s the tyranny of the minority.”

About two dozen counter-demonstrators had also appeared to campaign for anti-abortion laws.

“We want to call on everyone to respect life,” said Albert Stecklein, a 56-year-old business graduate from Rockville, Maryland. “The child in the womb deserves no less respect and dignity than you or me.”

Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of Women’s March, said the number of marches would rank second only after the group’s first protest, which mobilized millions of people around the world to join forces the day after his inauguration in 2017 to rally against former President Donald Trump.

A rally and march in New York drew thousands of protesters, including actresses Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence.

Proponents of abortion rights and the U.S. Department of Justice have challenged Texas law in state and federal courts, arguing that it is against Roe v. Wade violates.

A federal judge in Austin on Friday heard the Department of Justice’s motion to temporarily block the law while its constitutionality is challenged.

Reporting by Richard Webner in Austin, Timothy Gardner in Washington, Rory Doyle in Jackson, Mississippi, and Julia Harte and Jeenah Moon in New York; Letter from Peter Szekely; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Daniel Wallis and Cynthia Osterman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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