2nd anniversary of Supreme Court Dobbs decision

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Anti-abortion rights advocates celebrated the two year anniversary of the Dobbs Decision on the National Mall on Saturday morning. The ruling overturned Roe v. Wade, which had given women the right to an abortion.

Both pro- and anti-abortion rights advocates said there is still work to do for their respective causes.

“That fight is still very much ongoing” Katie Keith with the White House Gender Policy Council said.

“Being here is really saying to America we’re not going away,” Lauren Muzyka of Sidewalk Advocates for Life said.

Opposite sides of the abortion access debate, with similar messages for their supporters. For the past two years, abortion access laws have been in the hands of the state.

Keith said that means some states are pushing for more restrictions.

“There’s 21 states currently with an abortion ban currently in effect those numbers continue to change,” Keith said.

Muzyka said she’s looking forward to more legal victories to further restrict abortion access.

“What we’re really doing is calling on lawmakers to protect life at every level, the state level, the federal level,” said. “We recognize that the Dobbs decision that overturned roe v wade only went so far, it put the decision of abortion back in the hands of the people.”

Muzyka’s group, Sidewalk Advocates for Life, goes outside of abortion clinics to try and convince women to choose an alternative to an abortion.

This anniversary comes as the Supreme Court is set to release another major abortion opinion.

Moyle v. United States will determine whether or not state law overrules federal regulations that guarantee a right to lifesaving care, which includes abortions.

“I think there’s really a misunderstanding out there that if we protect life at conception that somehow mothers are not going to get miscarriage management care that they’re not going to get treatment for ectopic pregnancy,” Muzyka said. “That’s absolutely not true and I can say that as an attorney.”

The White House stands by the federal regulations in question, known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

“Federal law pre-empts state abortion bans that prevent doctors from providing life and health saving care to women who come into the emergency room when their doctor recommends that they need an abortion to save their health or their life,” Keith said.

A decision on Moyle v. United States is expected by Friday.

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