2022 Women's March

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On May 2, 2022, a series of protests erupted in the United States following the leak of a U.S. Supreme Court document, revealing the possible overturn of Roe v. Wade , [1] a law protecting the right to abortion in the United States. Soon after, a Women's March took place on May 3, 2022, and then again on May 14, 2022, [2] as part of the 2022 abortion rights protests in the United States. These protests have demanded an immediate protection to Roe v. Wade, an end to domestic violence and violence against women, and for an end of sexism in the United States. Counter protests have also taken place but on a much smaller scale.

Contents

Background

For years, the topic of abortion had been widely debated, and following the presidency of Donald Trump it became more widely known, with tensions rising between supporters and opponents of abortion rights. This resulted in large scale protests and counter protests, most notably The 2017 Women's March, where more than 5 million protesters took the streets across the country; this was followed by similar protests annually.

On May 2, 2022, following the leak of a possible overturn of Roe v. Wade , protests erupted in Washington, D.C. The following day, a national day of action was announced by Women's March. Thousands took to the streets across the country, most notably in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

On May 14, 2022, hundreds of thousands took to the streets across the United States and internationally. Both protests on May 3 and May 14 are part of the 2022 abortion rights protests in the United States, and were the beginning of a "Summer of Rage" according to Women's March on Facebook.

National day of action

On May 3, 2022, a national day of action was held across the United States at 5 PM local time. [3] Over 50,000 protesters took to the streets across the country, most notably in Boston. Chicago. Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C. Protests remained largely peaceful; however, clashes with police broke out in some cities. [4]

In Los Angeles, over 2,000 began protesting outside Los Angeles City Hall. Iater in the day, a clash broke out with police resulting in several arrests. [5] In Boston, 1,000 gathered outside the Massachusetts State House, up to 200 college students marched to Worcester's city hall, hundreds marched in Northampton, a dozen gathered outside the town hall in Ayer, and protests also occurred Springfield, Amherst, and Hyannis. [6]

In Maine, up to 300 marched through downtown Portland, and about 50 gathered at an intersection in Bangor. [7] In New York City, almost 5,000 protesters rallied at Foley Square in Manhattan. [8] In Washington, D.C., up to 7,000 people gather outside the Supreme Court of the United States for the second day in a row.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March for Life (Washington, D.C.)</span> Annual anti-abortion rally in Washington, D.C.

The March for Life is an annual rally and march against the practice and legality of abortion, held in Washington, D.C., either on or around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a decision legalizing abortion nationwide which was issued in 1973 by the United States Supreme Court. The participants in the march have advocated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which happened at the end of the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. It is a major gathering of the anti-abortion movement in the United States and it is organized by the March for Life Education and Defense Fund.

Abortion in Illinois is legal. Laws about abortion dated to the early 1800s in Illinois; the first criminal penalties related to abortion were imposed in 1827, and abortion itself became illegal in 1867. As hospitals set up barriers in the 1950s, the number of therapeutic abortions declined. Following Roe v. Wade in 1973, Illinois passed a number of restrictions on abortion, many of which have subsequently been repealed. Illinois updated its existing abortion laws in June 2019. The state has seen a decline in the number of abortion clinics over the years, going from 58 in 1982 to 47 in 1992 to 24 in 2014.

Abortion in Alaska is legal on demand at all stages of pregnancy, as long as a licensed physician performs the procedure. As of 2016, Alaska does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion. 63% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Alaska was one of only four states to make abortion legal between 1967 and 1970, a few years before the US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling. Alaska had consent requirements for women seeking abortions by 2007 that required abortion providers to warn patients of a link between abortion and breast cancer, despite it being scientifically unsupported.

Abortion in Arkansas is illegal except when it is necessary to save the life of the mother. Doctors determined to have performed an abortion face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000.

Abortion in Colorado is legal at all stages of pregnancy. It is one of seven states without any term restrictions as to when a pregnancy can be terminated.

Abortion in Delaware is legal up to the point of fetal viability. 55% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal and 38% stated it should be illegal in all or most cases. There was a therapeutic exceptions in the state's legislative ban on abortions by 1900. Informed consent laws were on the books by 2007. In 2017, Senator Bryan Townsend, D-Newark introduced legislation to try to make clear that abortion would remain legal in the state in case 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned. The legislation was subsequently updated. Attempts have been made to introduce mandatory ultrasound laws, but they failed to get out of committee. State legislators tried to move ahead the week at which a woman could get a legal abortion in 2019.

Abortion in the District of Columbia is legal at all stages of pregnancy. In 1971, in United States v. Vuitch, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law saying abortion was allowed for health reasons, which include "psychological and physical well-being". Consequently, the District of Columbia became a destination for women seeking abortions starting that year.

Abortion in Idaho is illegal from fertilization. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, abortion in Idaho was criminalized by the trigger law which states that a person who performs an abortion may face two to five years of imprisonment. The ban allows exceptions for maternal health, rape and incest within the first trimester. The law took effect on August 25, 2022.

As of 2024, abortion is currently illegal in Indiana. It's only legal in cases involving fatal fetal abnormalities, to preserve the life and physical health of the mother, and in cases of rape or incest up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. Previously abortion in Indiana was legal up to 20 weeks; a near-total ban that was scheduled to take effect on August 1 was placed on hold due to further legal challenges, but is set to take place, after the Indiana Supreme Court denied an appeal by the ACLU, and once it certifies a previous ruling, that an abortion ban doesn't violate the state constitution. In the wake of the 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court ruling, abortion in Indiana remained legal despite Indiana lawmakers voting in favor of a near-total abortion ban on August 5, 2022. Governor Eric Holcomb signed this bill into law the same day. The new law became effective on September 15, 2022. But on September 22, 2022, Special Judge Kelsey B. Hanlon of the Monroe County Circuit Court granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the ban. Her ruling allows the state's previous abortion law, which allows abortions up to 20 weeks after fertilization with exceptions for rape and incest, to remain in effect.

Abortion in Maine is legal, although terminations after fetal viability can only be performed if a physician determines it to be medically necessary. According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, 64% of adults said that abortion should be legal, with 33% stating that it should be illegal in all or most cases.

Abortion in Montana is legal. The number of abortion clinics in Montana has fluctuated over the years, with twenty in 1982, twelve in 1992, eight providers of which seven were clinics in 2011, and five clinics in 2014. There were four clinics from 2015 to February 2018 when All Families Healthcare clinic in Whitefish reopened. There were 1,690 legal abortions in 2014, and 1,611 in 2015.

Abortion in Tennessee is illegal from fertilization, except to "prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman".

Abortion in Wisconsin has been legal since September 18, 2023, and is performed in Madison, Milwaukee and Sheboygan through 22 weeks gestation. However, elective abortions in Wisconsin are under dispute after the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 24, 2022. Abortion opponents cite an 1849 law that they claim bans the procedure in all cases except when the life of the mother is in danger. However, lower level courts have argued that the law only applies to infanticide and not consensual abortions. The enforceability of the law is disputed and being considered by the state courts. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced that they would resume abortion services in Madison and Milwaukee on September 18, 2023. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin later announced that they would resume abortion services in Sheboygan on December 28, 2023.

Abortion in California is legal up to the point of fetal viability. An abortion ban was in place by 1900, and by 1950, it was a criminal offense for a woman to have an abortion. In 1962, the American Law Institute published their model penal code, as it applied to abortions, with three circumstances where they believed a physician could justifiably perform an abortion, and California adopted a version of this code. In 2002, California passed a law guaranteeing women the right to have an abortion "prior to viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman". In 2022, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 1, which amended the Constitution of California to explicitly protect the right to abortion and contraception by a margin of 33.76%.

Abortion in New Mexico is legal at all stages of pregnancy. The number of abortion clinics in New Mexico has declined over the years, with 26 in 1982, 20 in 1992 and 11 in 2014. There were 4,500 legal abortions in 2014. There were 7 facilities providing abortion in New Mexico in 2017, and 6 of those were clinics. In 2017, 91% of New Mexico counties had no clinics that provided abortions, and 48% of New Mexico women lived in those counties.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392, 597 U.S. 215 (2022), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), returning to individual states the power to regulate any aspect of abortion not protected by federal statutory law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights</span> USA based abortion rights organization

Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights is a U.S. based abortion rights coalition founded by Merle Hoffman, Lori Sokol, Sunsara Taylor and other initiators in January, 2022, aimed at preventing the U.S. Supreme Court from overturning Roe V. Wade and "decimating" abortion rights in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States abortion protests (2022–present)</span> 2022 protests following the ruling of Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization

A series of ongoing protests supporting abortion rights and anti-abortion counter-protests began in the United States on May 2, 2022, following the leak of a draft majority opinion for the U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which stated that the Constitution of the United States does not confer any Reproductive rights, thus overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court officially overturned Roe and Casey in Dobbs, resulting in further protests outside of the U.S. Supreme Court building and across the country, eventually to major cities across the world both in favor of and against the decision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice</span> Activist Coalition for Reproductive Justice

The National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice (NMRJ) is a coalition of grassroots organizations and unions supporting reproductive rights, particularly after the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade in the United States. The coalition was initiated by Radical Women in August 2021 and has local committees throughout the US. It is currently focusing on an effort to get the AFL-CIO to organize a national emergency labor conference to build defense of reproductive justice.

References

  1. ↑ "Abortion-Rights Crowds Grow Quickly in NYC, D.C.: Protest Update". Bloomberg.com. 2022-05-03. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  2. ↑ "Bans Off Our Bodies Rally May 14th · Womens March Action". Mobilize. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  3. ↑ "Abortion-Rights Crowds Grow Quickly in NYC, D.C.: Protest Update". Bloomberg.com. 2022-05-03. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  4. ↑ "LAPD, protesters clash downtown after rally against overturning of Roe vs. Wade". Los Angeles Times. 2022-05-04. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  5. ↑ "Photos: Hundreds Rally For Abortion Rights In Downtown LA". LAist. 2022-05-04. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  6. ↑ "PHOTOS: Thousands flock to Boston Common in support of abortion rights". www.wbur.org. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  7. ↑ "Hundreds of abortion rights supporters rally in Portland after leaked SCOTUS opinion". Maine Public. 2022-05-03. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  8. ↑ Admirand, Peter (2020-02-15). "Bullets and Opium: Real-life Stories of China after the Tiananmen Square Massacre by Liao Yiwu (Translated by David Cowhig, Jessie Cowhig, and Ross Perlin)". Human Rights Review. 21 (2): 215–217. doi:10.1007/s12142-020-00585-y. ISSN   1524-8879. S2CID   212826988.
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