Protestors turned out at the US courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday (May 3) after a leak from the Supreme Court signaled it will soon overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
The event was put together last minute by Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights.
One of the organizers, Skyler Soloman, told Reuters said supporters of Roe V. Wade were in the majority.
“It is 80 percent of the population who wants to see Roe upheld, it is 80 percent of our population who wants to see access to safe and legal abortion be maintained and if the Supreme Court has the audacity to overturn Roe vs Wade, that is going against the will of the majority of the American people. That is an assault on democracy and that is an affront to the American people,” she said.
Several hundred people turned out to the event, angry at the news that broke on Monday night (May 2).
Mike Cherry, 34, from Los Angeles, said he was worried other Supreme Court rulings would also come under threat.
“The basis for all of our freedom and our right to choose our private lives is at stake so I’m pretty worried about that as well, not just the issue that we’re out protesting here today but also gay rights. I just recently got married in December and you know, to see that possibly threatened is really disheartening and it makes me feel really upset so I’m here to stand with all the other people,” he said.
Soloman said the consequences of Roe v. Wade being overturned were dire, but that protest could help change things.
“It would mean that we’re taking a very dangerous step backward towards a new reality of rolling back rights, to a theocracy even, because these are deeply religious people who are in power and they are using their religious beliefs to legislate the majority of people who don’t agree with them and don’t want to see that happen. So this is a dire situation but it can be prevented through mass action.”
