US pro-life demonstrators rally on 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade

ITV News Correspondent Robert Moore reported on the 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade as anti-abortion protesters gathered in Washington DC

Anti-abortion demonstrators have gathered in Washington DC ahead of the 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade as US president Joe Biden vowed to protect reproductive rights.

The first 'March for Life' since the Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion by overturning the landmark Roe vs Wade ruling took place on Friday.

Demonstrators celebrated the dismantling of that constitutional right to abortion and the return of “abortion policymaking to the people".

One anti-abortion activist told ITV News they still "had much work to do" when it came to outlawing abortion nationwide but said the repeal of Roe vs Wade was a "victory".

As they marched on the capital, Mr Biden pledged to do all he could in his limited power to restore abortion rights.

“Never before has the Court taken away a right so fundamental to Americans,” his statement said. “In doing so, it put the health and lives of women across this nation at risk," he said ahead of the half-a-century marking of Roe v Wade on January 22.

He added that he would continue to use his executive authority in any way he can to preserve abortion protections, while urging Congress to enshrine such rights in law.

A counter-protest gathered outside the Supreme Court on Friday voicing their support for abortion rights.

One member of the protest told ITV News she wanted people to "stop telling people what to do with their bodies, nobody is telling them what to do, if they don't want abortions they don't have to get any".

Since June, near-total bans on abortion have been implemented in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Legal challenges are pending against several of those bans.

Elective abortions also are unavailable in Wisconsin, due to legal uncertainties faced by abortion clinics, and in North Dakota, where the lone clinic relocated to Minnesota.

Bans passed by politicians in Ohio, Indiana and Wyoming have been blocked by state courts while legal challenges are pending. And in South Carolina, the state Supreme Court struck down a ban on abortion after six weeks, ruling the restriction violates a state constitutional right to privacy, earlier this month.

But other states have witnessed unexpected pushback on the issue. Voters in Kansas and Kentucky rejected constitutional amendments that would have declared there is no right to abortion, while Michigan voters approved an amendment enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution.

Biden's administration has limited options after the Supreme Court decision. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to give a speech in Florida on Sunday, the 50th anniversary of the original Roe v. Wade ruling, to emphasise the administration's commitment to abortion rights.

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