Abortion Rights Activists Lead More Than 650 Marches Around U.S. in Protest of Restrictive Bans

Photo: Leigh Vogel/Getty As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to consider another restrictive ban, abortion rights activists are marching in protest across the country. More than 650 marches have been planned for Saturday, with theWomen’s Marchkicking off their Rally for Abortion Justice at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., and marching to the steps of the Supreme Court. “Over 120,000 people are set to join us at over 650 rallies nationwide tomorrow,fighting for abortion justice,” Women’s March executive director Rachel O’Leary Carmona wrote on Twitter Friday.

Abortion Rights Prevail in Surprise Ohio Vote, a Stunning Rebuke to Supreme Court: Here's What It Means

Deidra Reese, statewide program manager for the Ohio Unity Coalition, celebrates the defeat of Issue 1 during a watch party in Columbus on Aug. 8, 2023.Photo:Jay LaPrete/AP photo Jay LaPrete/AP photo In what’s being lauded as a victory for abortion rights, Ohio voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly defeated a Republican-backedballot measure that aimed to make it more difficult to change the state constitution. The measure, known asIssue One, would have raised thethresholdof support required for future state constitutional amendments from a simple majority of over 50% to a full 60%.

Abortions Are Still Legal in the U.S. — but Here's What Could Happen If 'Roe' Is Overturned

Protestors face off outside the Supreme Court after a draft opinion stating the intention to overturnRoe v. Wadewas leaked.Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images As of May 3,abortions are still legal in the United States. That has been true for nearly 50 years, and it doesn’t change just becausean opinion draft stating the intention to overturn the landmarkRoe v. WadeSupreme Court case, which established the right to abortion, was leaked.

Abortions Increase in the United States After 30-Year Decline, New Report Says

Photo: Jeff Roberson/AP/Shutterstock The report reveals an 8% increase in abortions since data was last collected in 2017, rising from 862,320 abortions to 930,160 abortions in 2020. In 2020, about one in five pregnancies ended in abortion and the abortion ratio — the number of abortions per 100 pregnancies — increased from 18.4% in 2017 to 20.6% in 2020, a 12% increase, per Guttmacher. Additionally, there was a 6% decrease in births between 2017 and 2020.

Abortions Now Effectively Banned in Kentucky After Republican Lawmakers Override Governor's Veto

Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg/Getty Abortions are effectively bannedin Kentucky as of Wednesday after Republican lawmakers enacted an abortion law containing so many restrictions that the only two clinics in the state say they can no longer perform the procedure. The law requires patients to file “birth-death certificates” after their abortion, and physicians who perform the procedure have to submit lengthy documentation to the state about everything from the method of abortion to the patient’s age, race, hometown and health background, along with their sexual partner’s, which abortion rights groups have said is a violation of patient privacy.