“It’s tragic”: several hundred demonstrators deplore the end of abortion in Saint-Louis
Less than two hours following the Supreme Court’s decision, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced on Twitter activate the abortion ban in his state.
To mark their opposition, several hundred demonstrators took to the streets of Saint-Louis, stopping in front of the Family Planning clinic, which had to stop all abortion procedures. “We cannot remain inert when our rights are taken away”launched one of the demonstrators in his megaphone.
“Today for me is tragic because we fought so hard to pass this law in 1973”regrets a 68-year-old protester, who came with her granddaughter. “Now 50 years later, they took that away from us. It is not fair “, she breathes. Another protester points out that the new ban will have consequences. “There are going to be pregnant women and people who are trapped in abusive marriages because they can’t get abortions”he dreads.
Linda Locke, of the clinic’s board of directors, is concerned regarding the impact of the decision on younger generations. “I have little girls, she says. “And they grew up thinking their bodies were under their control. And today, it’s shocking and disappointing that the Court is telling them this: ‘no… we don’t trust you to make decisions regarding your own body’”.
In addition to Missouri, six other states have imposed abortion bans: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma and South Dakota. Indiana has also announced plans to take steps to do the same. In Wisconsin, abortion service providers said the procedure was banned in the state.