Los Angeles police clash with protesters supporting women abortion rights

LOS ANGELES, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), in the western U.S. state of California, clashed Tuesday night with more than 400 protesters protesting news of the potential overturning of the Roe v. Wade abortion ruling.

Video clips posted online showed protesters, who gathered near the city hall in downtown Los Angeles calling for federal protection for abortion rights in the afternoon, hurled rocks and bottles at police officers, smashed-up police cars and vandalized bus stops after the violence unfolded at night.

LAPD declared a citywide tactical alert for a few hours, placing all officers on high alert. At least one policeman was injured in the clash.

The protest was triggered by a draft document, which was leaked to media and revealed late Monday, saying a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court is prepared to overrule the Roe case, which legalized abortion nationwide nearly 50 years ago.

The right to have an abortion until around 23 or 24 weeks in the country has been federally protected under the Constitution since that decision.

More rallies against the Supreme Court's potential order are planned in the second largest city of the United States. The Women's March Foundation said it would organize on May 14 a "Bans Off Our Bodies Rally" outside the city hall.

"From women's rights and health care to climate change and income equality - and virtually every other significant issue we face, the Women of America delivered their message loud and clear: We will not go back," the non-profit group said on its official website.

Statewide, more than 200 people met at the Santa Cruz county courthouse Tuesday to protest fast-moving restrictions across the country on abortion access, and a rally was scheduled to be held in San Diego Wednesday evening.

After Monday's leak, the Californian government pledged to defence the abortion rights in the most populous state of the country.

"California will not sit back. We are going to fight like hell," California Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday night.

Newsom and the Democratic leaders of the state legislature have announced plans to introduce an amendment "to enshrine the right to choose in our state constitution so that there is no doubt as to the right to abortion in this state."

For the amendment to be incorporated into the constitution, it would need to be passed by two-thirds of lawmakers in both the state Assembly and Senate and approved by voters, and local media predicted the amendment was barely to face any big challenge.

According to the July 2021 Statewide Survey from the Public Policy Institute of California, record proportions of Californians believed Roe v. Wade should not be overturned, while one in five believe it should be overturned.