fifty years back | abortion protests erupt at supreme court

One day forward, fifty years back

June 24, 2022 marked a momentous day in reproductive rights history. In a 5-4 vote, Roe v. Wade was overturned, removing the national protection for the right to abortion. Decades of progress for pro-choice advocates unwound in a single day and protests immediately erupted across the nation. The site of the vote itself, the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., was active for many days following as people gathered at its gates demanding justice. In an outburst of every emotion possible, people screamed, cried, danced, sat in silence, made music, and mourned for the lives of women affected by the vote.

Robin Gwak, with "MY BODY MY CHOICE" sprawled across her cheeks, chants, “No justice, no peace” at the front of the protests alongside other abortion rights activists outside the gates of the Supreme Court. Earlier that day, the Court handed down the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision which overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion lawmaking to the hands of each individual state.

A protest sign reads “SHAME” as protests on the day of the decision start to gather more and more attention throughout the day on both sides of the movement.

Three women stand in front of the Supreme Court to make their statement in support of the pro-choice protestors on the day of the decision.

Susan Scott marches back and forth in front of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house with a coat hanger representing unsafe abortions in Chevy Chase, Maryland on June 26, the third day of protests. Despite Scott being the only protestor there, nine police officers sat outside Kavanaugh’s house on watch and scolded Scott several times for her presence.

On the day of the decision, protestors painted their hands red to symbolize women’s blood and left their marks as statements on the curb wrapping all the way around the Supreme Court.

Guido Reichstadter, a radical abortion rights activist, waves from atop the Frederick Douglas Bridge in Washington, D.C. as a long green flag representing the movement billows below. He scaled the bridge in an act of civil disobedience the previous night after the Supreme Court handed down the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and stayed overnight, blocking the major road. He also tied shut the access point to the bridge, preventing the police and search & rescue from retrieving him.

Protests proved resilient as the sun set on the Supreme Court on the second day of protests, and young activist Emma Cerrelli took a turn to lead the chants and noisemaking.

For the second time that night, U.S. Capitol Police officers form two rings of protective circles around a single anti-abortion rights instigator during protests outside the Court.

Camryn Brown, 20, scolds one of the U.S. Capitol Police officers forming a protective circle around another anti-abortion rights instigator. Brown shouted into the megaphone, “It’s clear whose side you’re on. You’ve made it abundantly clear.”

“Our Rights D.C.” hosted a candlelight vigil on the third night where people could come and mourn the lives of women the decision would and has already started to affect. After the outpouring of heavy emotion, people erupted into song and dance to release the weight felt across the crowd.

After a few minutes of silence during the vigil, people took turns standing up and sharing their feelings with the mourning crowd. “I’m just thinking about how the original Roe would feel if she saw what was happening now, and it breaks my heart,” one crowd member said as she burst into tears.

angelina katsanis

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