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Women lose rights in USA - 29th June 2022

The US Supreme Court has made an important decision. It's ended women's right to have an abortion. There have been protests in many cities.

Judges voted 6 to 3 to change the court's decision on 'Roe vs Wade'. This 1973 case had given all women the legal right to end a pregnancy.

But now each US state can make its own abortion laws. Many states immediately activated laws to ban all abortions.

Brandy Michaud sees time going backwards.

Brandy Michaud: "It's insane. We pretty much went back 100 years with this 'Roe vs Wade' overruled. It's insane that we have to continue fighting for this."

Other states want to protect women's rights. New York governor Kathy Hochul's helping women from states with abortion bans.

Kathy Hochul: "The rights are secure here in the State of New York. We took action already. We allocated $35 million to support our abortion providers to be able to help our sisters across this nation find their way here. This is their safe harbour."

Vice President Kamala Harris thinks this situation is bad for women's health. She's also worried about people's rights to make personal decisions.

Kamala Harris: "This is the first time in the history of our nation that a constitutional right has been taken from the people of America. And what is that right some might ask. It's the right to privacy. Think about it as the right for each person to make intimate decisions about heart and home."

Some people in the USA have strong opinions about abortion. It's a dangerous topic to discuss. But 85 percent of Americans think it's OK in some or all situations.

People worry that this decision could create more arguments. And that the Supreme Court could change other decisions too.

Andrew Reisman thinks more rights will be lost.

Andrew Reisman: "Because women's rights are human rights. And this decision is the first in a long line of decisions that's going to strip every single right from every single one of us."