Protests Erupt Nationwide As SCOTUS Overturns Roe v. Wade

Fridays Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade prompted immediate protests nationwide, as access to reproductive health care was dramatically and immediately curtailed across the country.

Only 16 states and Washington, D.C., have laws explicitly protecting the right to an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute , a pro-abortion rights research institution.

Outside a fenced-off Supreme Court, a heavy police presence gathered before the decisions announcement. Thousands of protesters soon joined them, with others congregating around the nation in public squares and outside state legislatures and courthouses.

In Washington, Theresa Irish, 47, told HuffPost shed come to ask the U.S. Senate if it was OK for her to get a hangnail removed, because apparently they have rights over my body that I was unaware of.

LIVE on @MSNBC:

Crowds gather in cities across the country, protesting Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. https://t.co/RdYLvfum24 pic.twitter.com/xlPEo4SGoI

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LIVE on @MSNBC :

Crowds gather in cities across the country, protesting Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. https://t.co/RdYLvfum24 pic.twitter.com/xlPEo4SGoI
MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 24, 2022

Im very upset by this decision, she added. I dont think the government has any right to step in and say what I can do with my body. What happens between me and my doctor is 100% between me and my doctor.

Mary Irish, 73, said she was disappointed in the decision itself and also the Supreme Court more broadly, which she says has become very political.

I was there when a friend of mine had an illegal abortion, Mary said. It was horrifying. I wouldnt wish that on anyone.