Protesters at US Supreme Court decry abortion ruling
Conservative Justice suggests reconsidering past rulings on contraception, gay marriage
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WASHINGTON •Hundreds of protesters descended on the US Supreme Court on Saturday to denounce the justices' decision to overturn the half-century-old Roe versus Wade precedent that recognises women's constitutional right to abortion.
The sweeping 6-3 ruling by the conservative majority court, is set to alter American life, with nearly half of the country's states seen certain or likely to ban abortion.
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the court's reasoning could lead it to reconsider past rulings protecting the right to contraception, legalising gay marriage nationwide, and invalidating state laws banning gay sex.
As the day progressed, the number of protesters outside the Supreme Court rose substantially. The fenced-off area in front of the high court was filled largely with those demanding abortion rights.
Crowds carried posters with slogans such as "Abort SCOTUS".
One protester carried a placard that said "limit guns, not women" in reference to another Supreme Court decision in the same week expanding gun rights.
Earlier in the afternoon, a supporter of Friday's ruling said: "The thing that 'my body, my choice' advocates don't get is that the aborted baby never had a choice."
The man, who identified himself as Adam John, added: "The life in the womb matters, doesn't it."
President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the White House will monitor how states enforce bans, with administration officials having already signalled that they plan to fight attempts to prohibit a pill used for abortion.
"The decision is implemented by states," Mr Biden said. "My administration is going to focus on how they administer and whether or not they violate other laws."
The White House said it also would challenge any efforts by states to restrict women's ability to travel out of their home state to seek an abortion.
Biden respects US Supreme Court despite abortion ruling: White House
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE • President Joe Biden, who is weighing unilateral actions to counter an "extreme" ruling ending the US right to abortion, nonetheless "respects" the Supreme Court and sees no need to expand its membership, a spokesman said.
Mr Biden is looking for more "solutions" in the aftermath of the court's abortion decision, including possible unilateral executive orders, according to spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, she offered no timeline for the release of such orders and downplayed their significance: "Nothing could fill the hole that this decision has made," she said.
"The only way to make that whole again is for Congress to act," Ms Jean-Pierre added.
Still, Mr Biden continues to respect the authority of the Supreme Court, she said.
"When the President commented about the court's ruling, it was about the decision," which was "extreme", she said as Mr Biden travelled to Germany for the Group of Seven summit of rich nations.
"He sees the court obviously as legitimate and he respects the court... it is a court that he highly respects."
Last Saturday, Mr Biden again condemned the court's decisions earlier in the week restricting abortion rights and expanding gun owners' rights.
"The Supreme Court has made some terrible decisions," he told reporters.
The legally binding rulings outraged liberals disenchanted by the 6-3 conservative majority on the nation's top judicial body.
An expert commission launched by Mr Biden was deadlocked in December over whether to recommend reforms to the court's structure, including expanding its membership beyond nine justices.
"About expanding the court, that is something that the President does not agree with," said Ms Jean-Pierre. "That is not something that he wants to do."
Ms Jean Pierre declined to address other reform proposals discussed by the commission, such as imposing term limits on justices.
She said she expects there will be further legal challenges to new state-level restrictions on women travelling to seek abortions.
Mr Biden warned last Friday that executive authority is substantially limited, leaving him few or no options to fill the gaps created by the overturning of Roe v Wade.
REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
Meanwhile, Vatican official Andrea Tornielli wrote in an editorial that anti-abortion activists should be concerned with other threats to life too, such as easy access to guns and poverty.
For Christian conservatives who had long fought to overturn Roe, Friday's ruling was a cherished win and in part the result of a long campaign to appoint anti-abortion justices to the top court.
The ruling had the support of all three justices appointed by former president Donald Trump.
It is at odds with broad public opinion. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month found that about 71 per cent of Americans - including majorities of Democrats and Republicans - said decisions about terminating a pregnancy should be left to a woman and her doctor, rather than regulated by the government.
That support is not absolute: 26 per cent of respondents polled said abortion should be legal in all cases while 10 per cent said it should be illegal in all cases, with the majority supporting some limits.
The ruling will likely influence voter behaviour in the Nov 8 mid-term polls, when Democrats face the risk of losing their razor-thin majorities in the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate.
Some party leaders hope the decision will win over suburban swing voters, though activists have expressed demoralisation at suffering such a defeat while their party held total power in Washington.
"They can ask for votes for more power but don't they already have the Congress and the White House?" Ms Patricia Smith, a 24-year-old supporter of abortion rights, pointed out. "They have not been able to pass much in terms of legislation despite the power, so what is the point?"
However, the Democrats' majority in the Senate is so narrow that they have a difficult time overcoming opposition from Republicans who are able to erect procedural barriers to Bills.
The abortion decision came one day after the court issued a landmark ruling finding that Americans have a constitutional right to carry a concealed gun for protection - leading to the invalidation of a New York state law that set strict limits on concealed carry permits.
The two rulings showed an aggressively conservative court ready to remake American life at a time when Congress is often deadlocked and struggles to pass major policy changes.
A group of Democratic state attorneys-general said they would not use their offices to enforce abortion bans. "We are not going to use the resources of the Wisconsin Department of Justice to investigate or prosecute anybody for alleged violations of the 19th-century abortion ban," said Mr Josh Kaul, that state's attorney-general.
REUTERS
