SAN ANGELO, Texas — Protests against the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade are planned this weekend in Abilene and San Angelo. Men and women want their voices heard when it comes to women's rights.
A draft opinion from the Supreme Court of the United State was leaked to POLITICO May 2 suggesting the court is planning to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has granted the right to abortion under the 14th Amendment for nearly five decades.
Not only would the decision overturn Roe v. Wade, but also Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1992 ruling that upheld the federally-protected right to obtain an abortion.
San Angelo protest organizer Michelle Troyer said overturning this law could potentially open doors for even more laws to be overturned.
“We’re not going to be quiet. The thing we want to get out of this protest is to have our voices heard. Let the government know that we are not ok with this and we’re not going to stand by and let this happen,” Troyer said.
For the past couple of years, the San Angelo City Council has gone back and forth on whether or not the city will become a sanctuary for the unborn. As of now, the decision was made to reject a proposed ordinance.
Right To Life of East Texas director and Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative founder Mark Lee Dickson worked in San Angelo and numerous other cities across the country to make them sanctuaries. Now, he’s working with other pro-lifers towards overturning Roe v. Wade.
“For 49 years, we have seen women abused by abortion and their children killed because of it. So those of the pro-life initiative like me have been fighting for this for so long, we’re ready to see the end of Roe v. Wade. But the battle doesn’t end there. We’re going to have to go state by state to make sure we do all we can to protect women and children," he said.
As of right now, no decision has been made by the Supreme Court and the decision only applies at the federal level, not at the state level. If the Supreme Court rules to change the current rights granted to women under the Constitution, as is proposed in the leaked draft opinion, individual states will have more leniency to create their own laws.
The Day of Action: Bans off our Bodies protest in San Angelo begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 14, at the Tom Green County Courthouse.
In Abilene, the Abilene Bans off our Bodies Rally begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 14, at Abilene City Hall.