State Abortion Bans Spark Protests At Supreme Court And Nationwide

Abortion clinics are facing protesters emboldened by a flurry of restrictive new state laws as they reassure confused patients that the laws have yet to take effect, abortion providers said. "We have actually had many people calling and say, 'Are you open

Tuesday, May 21st 2019, 4:10 pm

By: News 9


Abortion clinics are facing protesters emboldened by a flurry of restrictive new state laws as they reassure confused patients that the laws have yet to take effect, abortion providers said. 

"We have actually had many people calling and say, 'Are you open? Are you still seeing patients? Is abortion now illegal? Will something happen to me if I come for care?'" said Dr. Willie Parker, one of two doctors providing abortions at the Alabama Women's Center in Huntsville recently.

Last week, Alabama enacted the nation's strictest abortion law, making performing abortions a felony at any stage of pregnancy with almost no exceptions. 

 

Georgia , Kentucky , Mississippi and Ohio have also passed laws that prohibit abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected — about six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant. Missouri and Louisiana are close to enacting similar bans.  None of the laws has taken effect, and all are expected to be blocked while legal challenges work their way through the courts.

But the restrictive bans have since sparked a "Day of Action", triggering demonstrations across the U.S. in defense of abortion rights. 

Some lawmakers hope two new conservative justices nominated by President Donald Trump will provide the votes for the Supreme Court to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. It's a prospect leading many to take to the steps of the High Court to protest.

Hundreds turned out in support of reproductive rights at demonstrations organized by Planned Parenthood on Tuesday, even bringing out some faces of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary field, including Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Amy Klobuchar. 

"The right for a woman to control her own body is a fundamental constitutional right and we have got to do everything we can to defend it," Sanders told reporters outside the Supreme Court. 

Other Democratic contenders including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kamala Harris and Beto O'Rourke issued statements on social media saying they stood alongside those demonstrating in support of women's reproductive health care. 

Energized protesters also showed up at Mississippi's only abortion clinic, with 100 people gathering on some days singing and waving signs— double the usual number, clinic owner Diane Derzis said.

"They know they're winning, and they don't care what they need to do," she said.

Messages in pink and blue chalk remained on a sidewalk recently near the hot pink building in Jackson that houses the clinic: "Babies are murdered here" and "Repent. Turn to Christ."

 

 
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