Similar demonstrations are expected across the country over the weekend, according to CNN research. Organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Bans Off Our Bodies and Women’s March are among the groups organizing the events.
At the last minute Friday, Arizona law enforcement used tear gas to disperse a crowd of abortion advocates protesting in front of the State Capitol in Phoenix.
“Soldiers deployed tear gas after a crowd of protesters repeatedly knocked on the glass doors of the State Senate building,” Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves told CNN.
The crowd then moved across the street to Wesley Bolin Plaza, where police used tear gas after a monument was vandalized, Graves said.
“While we were working inside, we were interrupted by the sound of bangs and the smell of tear gas,” Arizona State Representative Sarah Liguori, a Democrat, tweeted from inside the building. He added: “The protesters left the Capitol.”
The protests come after several Arizona abortion providers said they paused abortion services for lack of legal clarity on the issue, according to posts on their websites.
Arizona State Representative Justin Wilmeth, a Republican, tweeted that lawmakers were working on a couple of political elements when they heard the protesters.
“As I heard it, some people hit the Senate windows or broke them and then the DPS dropped smoke bombs to disperse the crowd. Pure chaos a bit,” Wilmeth tweeted.
The protests took place before the Supreme Court
In the country’s capital, a person led protesters in front of the Supreme Court in a chant of “Hands off! Hands off!” and a call and response from “My body! My choice!”
One woman told CNN affiliate WJLA that the decision was an outrage.
“It’s illegitimate. Prohibitions on abortion are illegitimate,” the woman said. “Forced motherhood is illegitimate.”
Protesters asked attendees to make a donation to abortion advocates and to buy abortion pills to distribute to others.
Opponents of the right to abortion were also present before the Supreme Court. After the decision, a man, standing between banners that included the messages “Roe is dead” and “I’m the next generation of Roe,” sprinkled champagne in the air over others who were celebrating. There were several dozen opponents of abortion rights at the site during the afternoon, but it looked like they had leaked from the crowd in the evening.
In New York’s Greenwich Village, thousands marched and chanted in the streets. One of the chants addressed the word f to Judge Brett Kavanaugh. There were some anti-abortion activists on the march, but they kept a low profile and there were no clashes seen by the CNN crew walking with the protesters.
Los Angeles protesters blocked Highway 110 as it passed through downtown, blocking traffic. While abortion will remain legal in California, protesters said they showed their concern and support for women in other states.
In Atlanta, several hundred people in two different demonstrations merged and gathered in front of the Capitol. Almost everyone protested the decision. A CNN crew saw a counter-protest where a group began their march a few miles away.
In Texas, a large crowd gathered in front of a federal court in central Austin. People grabbed a microphone to tell stories, lots of fear and frustration. Some carried signs, including one that said “Pro-life is a lie, they don’t care if we die.”
In Washington, DC, an abortion rights activist climbed to the top of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, which was later closed. Guido Reichstadter posted videos and photos of himself on social media from the top of the bridge, where he unfurled a large green banner. Green is recognized as a symbol of the right to abortion.
Reichstadter also planted a flag on the bridge that said “Don’t step on my uterus.”
He told CNN that while many people in the United States oppose the Supreme Court decision, their support is largely passive, which he says is not enough to ensure women have access to abortion in the whole country.
CNN’s Camila Bernal, Gary Tuchman, Whitney Wild, Eliott C. McLaughlin, Sharif Paget, Sara Smart, Natasha Chen and Nick Valencia have all contributed to this report.