by Kanishka Singh, Trevor Hunnicutt and Gabriella Borter
WASHINGTON/JACKSON, Mississippi, June 26 (Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Saturday to protest the revocation of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling that paved the way for legalization of abortion in the country.
The Court, where conservatives sit in force, voted five to four on Friday to overturn Roe vs. Wade, meaning each state is now free to decide whether or not to allow abortion.
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, who sits on the Supreme Court, raised the possibility that the decision could lead to a review of certain decisions relating to the right to contraception and same-sex marriage, or invalidating laws in some states banning same-sex sexual relations.
The number of demonstrators in front of the Court increased as the day progressed, mainly people in favor of the right to abortion.
Signs could be seen saying: “Abort SCOTUS” (“Abort the Supreme Court”), or “Limit the carrying of weapons, not women”, a reference to another decision of the Supreme Court, taken Thursday, expanding the right to bear arms.
At a rally in Illinois on Saturday, former US President Donald Trump called the Supreme Court’s decision “a victory for the Constitution, a victory for the rule of law, and above all, a victory for the life”.
He reminded his audience that he had pledged during his 2016 presidential campaign to appoint judges who would “defend the original meaning of the Constitution”.
For the Christian right in the United States, Friday’s decision is a major victory and follows a long campaign to have anti-abortion justices appointed to the Supreme Court. The three judges appointed by Donald Trump voted in favor of revoking the Roe ruling.
The two rulings made this week portray the Court in an extremely conservative light, and as ready to make decisions aimed at reshaping American society, while Congress is regularly divided and struggles to pass decisions that would bring about major policy changes.
(With contributions from Tim Reid, Lucia Mutikani, Andrea Shalal and Daphne Psaledakis, writing by Scott Malone and Richard Cowan; French version Camille Raynaud)