Women's marches to draw thousands on 50th anniversary of Roe

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Women’s marches demanding the protection of abortion rights are set to draw thousands of people across the country on Sunday, the 50th anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that established a federal right to an abortion.

Organizers said they are now focusing on states after the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe in June unleashed a flurry of abortion restrictions and near-total bans in more than a dozen states.

“We are going to where the fight is, and that is at the state level,” reads the website for the Women's March. The group has dubbed this year's rallies “Bigger than Roe.”

The main march will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, where upcoming state Supreme Court elections could determine the balance of power on the court and future of abortion rights in the state.

Abortions are unavailable in Wisconsin due to legal uncertainties faced by abortion clinics.

Two days ago, the annual March for Life drew tens of thousands of freshly galvanized anti-abortion activists to Washington, D.C. Abortion opponents are increasingly setting their sights on Congress with the aim of pushing for a potential national abortion restriction down the line.

In the absence of Roe v. Wade's federal protections, abortion rights have become a state-by-state patchwork. In some states, officials have grappled with laws banning abortion that dated from the 1800s and were still on the books.

In Wisconsin, abortion clinics are facing legal questions over whether an 1849 law banning the procedure is in effect. The law, which prohibits abortion except to save the patient's life, is being challenged in court.

Wisconsin's conservative-controlled state Supreme Court, which for decades has issued consequential rulings in favor of Republicans, is likely to...