Protesters at the US embassy in Vauxhall on Friday
(Picture: PA)More than 100 demonstrators have gathered outside the United States embassy in London to protest against the decision to scrap the constitutional right to abortion.
The US Supreme Court on Friday ended constitutional protections for abortion that have been in place for nearly 50 years by deciding to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade ruling.
It is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of US states.
Judith Orr, vice chair of campaign group Abortion Rights, which claims to have organised the demonstration, said protesters were “full of rage and anger” about the decision and warned the consequences would be “dire”.
She said: “You can’t exaggerate really the impact it’s going to have, women will die, rural women, women who can’t access care online, African American women, women of colour, poor, working class women, these are the people who are going to suffer the most from this.”
She added: “We stand with you. We will fight until you win your rights back and we’re full of emotion this evening for those women.
“I find it hard to fathom, in the 21st century, that they’re doing this, that they’re pushing people to risk their lives to control their own fertility. It’s absolutely appalling and devastating this evening.”
The crowd stood listening to speakers condemn the ruling of the US Supreme Court while holding signs, many reading “our bodies, our choice”.
One attendee arrived wearing a costume from the dystopian novel and TV series, The Handmaid’s Tale, in which society is ruled by a fundamentalist regime that treats women as property.
