The US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade after nearly 50 years has been met with a range of emotions in America, from outrage to celebration.
To try to understand the feelings at play, Sky News spoke to a number of women who were among those gathered in Washington DC after the historic verdict came down.
‘One of America’s darkest days’ – live reaction and analysis as Roe v Wade overturned
Ansa Edim, 34
Ansa said she feels “incredibly angry and disgusted with this nation”.
“Abortion is a human right,” she added. “Women are not incubators. And I live in a country that told me that the value of my body is in giving birth.
“What does that say about people who cannot? What does that say about people who will not? I’m horrified.”
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Asked who her horror and concern is for, she said: “It’s for everyone with a uterus who has any chance of getting pregnant, wanted or unwanted.
“It’s for anyone who’s walking around saying: What if I have an ectopic pregnancy? What if I get pregnant? What if I get raped? What if I get assaulted? What if I don’t have the means?”
She added: “When I briefly considered maybe getting pregnant, I had to research which hospital was least likely to kill me, because as a black, fat woman of colour, I am most likely to die in childbirth.
“I don’t want children because it’s dangerous to give birth.”
Melanie Salazar, 23
“I am overjoyed,” said Melanie, from San Antonio, Texas. “On cloud nine, almost in disbelief that this has been a moment the pro-life movement has been working for since the outrageous ruling of Roe v Wade. And now we’re here.”
She said she’s “happy and relieved” at the verdict, as she believes “all human life from the moment of fertilisation is equal and worthy of protection under the law”.
“I am a Christian,” she said, “but I believe even if I grew up never hearing the name Jesus Christ, I would still logically come to this same belief.
“Because I’m not saying I believe that life begins at fertilisation. I’m saying I recognise what science says, that life begins at fertilisation. And I believe that all humans are equal, worthy of dignity. And you don’t need religion to come to that conclusion.”
Paige Brasington, 26
Paige said she’s “really relieved” at the overturning of Roe, as she had been unsure what would happen.
“And I think it’s a really big step forward in advancing human rights in the United States,” she added.
“But there’s still a long way to go and a lot more support that we need to do for women, a lot more support we need to do to help advance a culture of life here in the United States.
“Because I feel like this is a human rights abuse issue. So really, without the right to life, you can’t have the right to any other human rights if you aren’t alive.”
Asked if her faith plays a role in her views, she said “not really” and added that she considers herself “somewhere between agnostic and religious”.
Michelle Peterson, 40
Michelle said she was “very deflated and defeated” at something she knew was coming.
“The anger is there, and it still hasn’t fully hit me yet,” she said.
“I think because I was so angry after the leak. And we’ve been prepping so hard for today because we knew it was going to fall anyway, it’s not 100% real yet.”
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She said she views the decision as religious infringement, referencing Jewish law, which holds that life begins at the first breath.
“This totally denies anybody that’s Jewish or follows a different faith their right to seek the type of healthcare that they wish.”
Therrisa Bukovinac, 41
“I’ve been here every single day leading up to this decision,” Therissa said as she stood in front of the Supreme Court building.
“I launched my organisation, Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, on the steps of the Supreme Court in October 2021.
“I have been out here for every single decision day in any major abortion case for the last five years.
“And so I am here today to celebrate that we have overturned Roe v Wade.”
She said today’s ruling was “just the first step”.
“We are going to every blue city in America. We are going to every abortion stronghold.
“And we are going to end the destructive relationship that the Democratic Party has with the abortion industrial complex.”
Mary Cortina, 58
Mary was on her way to a museum when she heard the “stunning” decision.
“And I’m not in favour of abortions… but it’s their choice,” she said.
“It is not my choice to limit somebody else’s liberty. And that’s every woman’s liberty, every woman’s rights have just been taken away. And that’s what I find so shocking.”
“It feels personal,” she added. “It feels like a personal stomach punch against women.”
She said her biggest concern is that women won’t have access to abortion and will “do it anyway and take us back to a time when women died.”
“In my state of Virginia, we will fight at a state level to protect our own liberties, which we from the US fought for.”
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