SANTA MONICA—A group of abortion rights activists marched to a Santa Monica Planned Parenthood on Saturday, July 16 at around 10 a.m., in an attempt to confront an oppositional protest that was scheduled to be held later that day.
Rise Up 4 Abortion arrived at the Third Street Promenade just before 11:30 a.m. and were joined by another group of abortion-rights demonstrators, bringing their numbers to about 400 to 500 people. They initially began with about a group of 100.
According to reports, the opposition did not show up as planned and instead set up their demonstration elsewhere. They were scheduled to start their demonstration at around 12 p.m. A smaller group of anti-abortion demonstrators did arrive equipped with a loudspeaker and signs that read “Repent or Perish.”
Around July 9, an organization called American Made Patriots protested outside of the same Planned Parenthood office forcing it to close down early.
Hundreds of demonstrations both in support of and against abortion erupted throughout the United States after a Supreme Court opinion piece was leaked in May. The Supreme Court announced their decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade on June 24, 2022. The decision made back in 1973 legalized abortion federally.
Nine states have banned abortion in all cases since the decision was announced. Efforts have been made by politicians within those states to ban federal funding on travel costs for those seeking abortions. Within some of those nine states, the legal status of abortion has been challenged flipping its status back and forth.
Abortion remains legal in the state of California. A ballot measure in California’s upcoming election will enable voters to decide whether the state Constitution should be amended to explicitly protect a person’s right to an abortion.
