Activists on both sides of the debate rallied with jubilation or devastation.
“Birds, stop telling me what to do with my body,” read the poster of a protester in Washington, DC.
“People’s bodies are more regulated than guns,” read another poster in Atlanta.
Outside the Supreme Court, an exalted Valentina Aaron erected a sign with the image of a fetus. “Forceps out of my body,” the poster said.
“It’s incredibly exciting,” Aaron said of the historic sentence. “If I were a baby inside a womb, I’d want someone to defend me.”
But nearby, Joseph Little, an abortion rights advocate, had a sign that said, “Forced childbirth is slavery.”
“Making people look like it’s enslavement,” Little told CNN. “When you tell people that they no longer have a voice in their personal affairs, that’s enslavement. It’s oppression. And the Bible clearly says we need to correct oppression.”
Demonstrations for and against the sentence have been largely peaceful, but some arrests have been reported.
In Los Angeles, police intervened on Saturday when protesters tried to march toward U.S. Highway 101. Officers pushed the protesters and beat at least one person with batons, according to the scene video.
“Full House” actress Jodi Sweetin was pushed to the ground by an officer, the video of the incident also shows. Sweetin stood up and continued to protest, leading a chant of “No Justice, No Peace,” according to photojournalist and witness Michael Ade. Los Angeles police are aware of the video and “the force used will be assessed based on LAPD policy and procedure,” the agency said in a statement.
In New York, at least 20 people were arrested on pending charges, police said.
In Greenville, South Carolina, at least six people were arrested at a rally on Saturday, officials said. The demonstration featured people protesting and supporting the Supreme Court ruling.
In Washington, DC, two people were arrested Saturday after being accused of “throwing paint on the fence by the U.S. Supreme Court,” U.S. Capitol police tweeted.
In Phoenix, some 1,200 people attended an abortion rights rally Saturday, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said. Four people were arrested at the end of the day after a fence around the House and Senate Square was torn down, the agency said.
In Lynchburg, Virginia, police are investigating vandalism at a pregnancy center. The words, “If abortion isn’t safe, you’re not safe” were spray-painted near the entrance to the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center, police photos show. Security camera footage shows “four masked people committing the acts,” police said in a press release.
The installation did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. On Friday, the center shared its support for the Supreme Court’s decision on Facebook, writing, “Rejoicing with a heart overwhelmed with gratitude for the life-confirming decisions that were made today.”
States prohibit abortion while others move to protect access
The Supreme Court ruling allowed states to immediately begin establishing their own abortion policy, leaving people across the country with different levels of access.
Some states now have outright bans on abortions, with different exceptions or none. They include Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin.
States with abortion bans that are expected to go into effect in the coming days and weeks include Wyoming, Mississippi, Tennessee and Idaho.
In Arizona, abortion providers began canceling appointments immediately after Friday’s ruling. The state Senate Republican caucus issued a note demanding that the state immediately enforce a law prior to Roe that prohibits most abortions unless the procedure is necessary to save a mother’s life.
Meanwhile, some Democratic governors are trying to protect access to abortion.
In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers said he would fight “with all the powers we have” after his Republican-controlled state legislature refused to repeal the 1849 state law banning abortion, which comes back into effect after of the Supreme Court ruling.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a law to protect non-California residents seeking reproductive health care in the state. It also protects anyone who performs, attends, or receives an abortion in the state from any possible out-of-state civil action.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued an executive order Saturday providing similar protections. “Our administration is doing everything possible to protect the right of people to make their own health decisions,” Walz said in a statement.
In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee vowed to create a “sanctuary state” for reproductive choice for people across the country through an upcoming executive order. The order will order the state police not to comply with extradition efforts from other states that seek to penalize those traveling to Washington for abortion. Inslee did not specify when the executive order will be issued or when it will take effect.
Post-Roe legal battles have begun
Shortly after Utah banned most abortions, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit alleging that the recently enacted law violates civil liberties guaranteed in the state constitution, including the right to determine family composition and equality. protection.
In the lawsuit, Planned Parenthood said the law will have a disparate impact on women compared to men and violates the right to bodily integrity, involuntary servitude, as well as the right to privacy.
The lawsuit appoints the governor and attorney general from among the defendants.
Having an abortion in Utah is now a second-degree felony in almost every case, according to the lawsuit. Utah law allows abortion if there is a danger to the mother’s health, uniformly diagnosable health conditions detected in the fetus, or when the mother’s pregnancy is the result of a rape or incest.
“When the Act came into force, the PPAU (Utah Planned Parenthood Association) and its staff were forced to immediately stop performing abortions in Utah beyond those few allowed by law,” says the demand. “If relief is granted in this case, the PPAU health centers would resume offering abortions that do not comply with any exception to the Act.”
Gov. Spencer Cox’s office did not immediately respond to CNN’s request Saturday to comment on the lawsuit. Attorney General Sean Reyes’ office told CNN he had no comment on the lawsuit.
CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, Aya Elamroussi, Jalen Beckford, Keith Allen, Gregory Krieg, Sonnet Swire, Hannah Sarisohn, Sharif Paget, Claudia Dominguez, Sara Smart, Kate Conerly and Andy Rose contributed to this report.