“Hands off our bodies!” Thousands of demonstrators take to the streets of the United States, Saturday, May 14, to defend the right to abortion. This is threatened by the Supreme Court, 50 years after its historic decision to protect abortion. “We are done with the attacks on abortion. We are demonstrating today to say it loud and clear: don’t touch our bodies”said in a tweet Women’s March, one of the organizations behind this great day of action.
>> “If things move, it will be by public opinion”, says a specialist in the United States
Some 450 parades are organized across the country, including large marches in Washington, New York, Chicago, Austin and Los Angeles. In the capital, the parade was due to start at 2 p.m. local time and head towards the Supreme Court building. At least 17,000 people are expected, according to organizers. Even if it is supported by a majority of the population, according to recent polls, the right to abortion has been a very divisive social issue since the historic “Roe v. Wade” decision of January 1973, which protects the right of American women to terminate their pregnancies.
Twenty states plan to ban abortion
The Supreme Court, which must render its decision by the end of June on a Mississippi law limiting the legal time limits for abortion, has been in turmoil since the beginning of May and the revelation by the Politico news site of a draft decree which, if adopted as is, will grant American states the right to prohibit or authorize abortions. Abortion is already restricted in 23 Republican-led states, and more are awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court, now firmly entrenched in conservatism, to follow that path.
>> Which American states would prohibit abortion in the event of reversal of the Supreme Court?
Twenty conservative states have already promised to make it illegal, some even in cases of rape or incest, which would force women to travel thousands of miles to have an abortion. The elected Democrats in Congress have promised to protect the right to abortion in the States where they are in the majority. They called for a large mobilization by gathering on the steps of Congress facing the Supreme Court.