Hundreds Gather In Santa Monica To Protest Reversal Of Roe V. Wade

SANTA MONICA, CA — Hundreds of protesters gathered in Santa Monica on Sunday to protest the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case.

The ruling removed the constitutional right to abortion in the nation. Even though abortion is still legal in California, the ruling sparked a groundswell of activism across the state.

Demonstrators marched by the beach in Santa Monica and chanted "women's rights are human rights," 2,4,6,8 separate the church from state" and carried signs defending reproductive rights.

One sign read: "kids getting shot left and r right but no let's strip women's reproductive rights away." Another read: "If you want a war on women we are ready to revolt," according to Santa Monica Close Up, a photo blog published by local photojournalist Fabian Lewkowicz.

Meanwhile, in downtown Los Angeles, Monday was the fourth consecutive day of protests held.

RiseUp4AbortionRights sponsored the Monday afternoon rally that began at the U.S. Courthouse at 350 W. First St. The group rallied outside the court building, then began marching on some downtown streets.

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On Sunday, a rally organized by the groups The Feminist Front and Generation Ratify was held at Grand Park. It came on the heels of two days of demonstrations following the U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 decision Friday to overturn 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling.

Several streets around the Civic Center were temporarily closed Saturday by two large demonstrations downtown, one at Grand Park and another outside the federal courthouse on First Street, with a third rally outside the Federal Building in Westwood.

Saturday's demonstrations were mostly orderly and peaceful, except for a brief attempt by protesters to access the Hollywood (101) Freeway. Police said a group entered the off-ramp from Broadway Avenue at 3:42 p.m., but the off-ramp was cleared about 17 minutes later.

Friday's protests were not as peaceful, however, as a 30-year-old man was arrested for allegedly attacking a police officer with a "makeshift flamethrower" and could face charges of attempted murder.

Michael Ortiz, 30, was set to be arraigned later Tuesday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on one count each of assault with intent to commit a felony and assault upon a peace officer or firefighter, along with allegations that he personally used a deadly weapon and that he had two prior convictions in 2016 for resisting an executive officer.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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