May 21, 2019

Powerful Scenes as Thousands Across the Country Protest Extreme Abortion Laws

#StopTheBans comes after 8 states passed draconian measures aimed at challenging Roe v. Wade.

As Republican-controlled state legislatures continue to pass legislation restricting abortion access—a steady movement that has prompted outrage and deep concerns this may trigger a conservative-leaning Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade—reproductive rights groups have organized a mass national protest on Tuesday to speak out against the new wave of draconian laws.

The call to action comes exactly one week after Alabama lawmakers passed a measure effectively banning abortions outright, even in cases of rape and incest. The ban, which was signed into law the next day, also makes it a felony punishable of up to 99 years in prison for doctors who perform the procedure. Seven other states have passed legislation targeting abortion rights this year alone.

The #StopTheBans demonstrations on Tuesday will kick off around noon local time, with at least 500 events scheduled at statehouses and courthouses around the country. More than 50 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood, are behind the national day of protest. Several high-profile Democrats, including 2020 presidential candidates Sen. Amy Klobuchar and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, were among the protesters attending the DC rally outside the Supreme Court.

We’ll be updating this post with powerful scenes from the various protests below: 

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We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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