Roe vs Wade: protesters condemn ‘tragedy’ as several states impose new abortion bans

‘Women died getting abortions......we were trying to protect women’s rights, women’s lives, and now they’ve taken all that away from us’

Seismic Supreme Court ruling on Friday triggered wave of right-leaning states to impose new bans on the procedure, with Missouri being the first

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A hand holds a metal coat hanger, a symbol of the reproductive rights movement, with the words “Not a Medical Instrument” as abortion rights activists protest in St. Louis, Missouri, on Friday. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:05pm, 25 Jun 2022

Standing outside what had been the last remaining abortion clinic in Missouri, Pamela Lukehart choked back tears as she recalled how things were before the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision enshrining a woman’s right to the procedure.

“Women died getting abortions back then,” the 68-year-old told Agence France-Presse on Friday, her voice breaking as she stood alongside scores of other protesters.

“We were trying to protect women’s rights, women’s lives, and now they’ve taken all that away from us.”

The conservative-dominated Supreme Court on Friday overturned its monumental decision in Roe vs Wade, putting an end to the federal right to abortions it established nearly 50 years ago.

Abortion rights activists protest in Missouri, US, after the overturning of Roe vs Wade by the US Supreme Court. Photo: Agence France-Presse

The seismic ruling shredded five decades of constitutional protection and immediately triggered a wave of right-leaning states to impose new bans on the procedure, with Missouri being the first.

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