‘I’m outraged:’ Women react to Roe v. Wade ruling outside of Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – Politely sidestepping through a crowd of hundreds gathered outside the nation’s highest court, a group of teenage girls hoisted their hastily-made posters in the air and joined in the chants.

Some of them admitted that they have never visited the nation’s capital before and others shared that they have never been part of a protest.

“We saw what happened this morning with the overturning of Roe and we just decided to use our time and use our voices,” explained 16-year-old Kayley Ko.

Ko, who traveled from North Carolina, came to D.C. for a week-long program designed to give students an opportunity to advocate on policy issues with lawmakers.

“We were presenting our position on reproductive rights to Congressmen and then we looked at our phones and said, ‘Oh my God, the Supreme Court just issued its ruling on Roe.'”

In a 5-4 ruling, the nation’s highest court tossed out Roe v. Wade, the landmark law that established a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion in the United States in 1973. The decision is expected to lead to nearly half of U.S. states outlawing or severely restricting the medical procedure and will affect tens of millions of people.

Following the ruling, supporters and opponents of the decision gathered outside the Supreme Court.

“I’m f—ing angry, this is not right,” added 15-year-old Jetia, who traveled from the Birmingham, Alabama region to Washington, D.C. “This is my first protest and I’m so happy to see that there are so many people out here supporting our rights,” she added.

“We don’t know what else is on the chopping block,” added Noel Gonzalez Jackson, 15, from Maryland. “We have all been very open with each other about this normally private issue,” she said, holding a sign she made with her eyeliner en route to the protest.

“I’m outraged,” Koyuki Chance, 45, told CNBC outside the Supreme Court. “This decision cannot stand,” added the Philadelphia native.

“In order for women and birthing people to live full lives as human beings they must have self-determination and that cannot happen if abortion is illegal,” added Chance, a mother to a daughter.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/24/im-outraged-women-react-to-roe-v-wade-ruling-outside-of-supreme-court.html