A protester holds up a sign as nearly 1,000 abortion rights protesters march down Congress Street in downtown Tucson on Friday night after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

For Michelle Miller, her 55th birthday on Saturday was one she believes she will never forget.

When Miller was 5, the Roe v. Wade ruling made abortion legal. Now, nearly 50 years later, she’s devastated at Friday’s Supreme Court decision, saying there are no words to describe the ruling other than “disgust and sadness.”

“I never thought ever that this would happen,” Miller said. “It’s my body, you cannot tell me what to do with it. I understand that we all have our own opinions and that’s fine, but you cannot put any of your beliefs on me.”

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade prompted hundreds of Tucsonans to hold rallies and prayer sessions across town on Friday, making their voices heard on both sides of the issue.

Linda Pawson, left, and Frank Doyle find shade in the back of a car while seated outside Planned Parenthood in Tucson after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on Friday. Pawson says she's been protesting outside of Planned Parenthood facilities every Friday for more than 40 years. 

Prayer rally

Anti-abortion advocates held a sidewalk prayer rally outside of Planned Parenthood, at 2255 N. Wyatt Drive, on Friday morning to celebrate the decision that now lets each state decide on whether abortions will be allowed.

Bob Pawson, the leader of Tucson Pro-Life Action, has been an anti-abortion advocate for 40 years. Pawson said they were not outside Planned Parenthood to protest, but to pray.

“This is not a protest, it’s a celebration of life,” Pawson said. “We’re not crowing ‘ha ha,’ we’re not doing that. This is not the time for that.”

About 50 people attended the prayer rally, sitting across from the Planned Parenthood building and holding anti-abortion signs.

“I am cautiously optimistic,” Pawson said. “I don’t see this vote as the victory, but this is a victory on the road to ultimately restoring the respect for and right to life of all human beings. We have to treat the weakest and youngest and most helpless amongst us with the same dignity that we treat anybody else.”

Rachel Jones, who is running for the Arizona House in Legislative District 10, also attended the prayer rally, saying she was “very excited” about the ruling.

“I believe life begins at conception,” Jones said. “Three of my five kids are adopted so I know there are other options for women to choose.”

Abortion rights supporters hold up a variety of signs as passing traffic drives down East Broadway during a Tucson Women's March protest on Friday night. Abortion rights supporters gathered on the corner of South Randolph Way and East Broadway as well as the corner of South Alvernon Way and East Broadway.

Once Miller heard the news on Friday, she decided to head to Planned Parenthood to surround herself with others who also help out at the clinic. Miller urges the community to come out and make their voices heard in support of abortion rights.

“Come out and do anything you can, whether it’s a dollar for a program or going to a rally and bringing food and water,” Miller said. “Any little thing that you can do will help. We need to be loud and speak up.”

An abortion rights supporter rallies a crowd of several hundred marching down Sixth Avenue in Tucson, part of a larger protest after Roe v. Wade was overturned on Friday.

Nearly 1,000 march downtown

On the other side of town, Tucson Women’s March held two rallies for abortion rights on Friday.

One rally took place downtown at the Federal Courthouse while the other took place along East Broadway between Alvernon Way and Randolph Way.

Amy Fitch-Heacock, one of the organizers of the Tucson Women’s March and the founder of Arizonans for Reproductive Freedom, said as soon as they saw the leak of the court’s draft opinion in May that indicated Roe would be overturned, they created a ballot initiative that, if placed on the ballot and approved by voters, would enshrine abortion rights into the Arizona Constitution.

“At the moment, I’m just determined,” Fitch-Heacock said. “It’s been an emotional day. It started with shaking rage this morning and now it’s just determination.”

Nearly 1,000 people showed up downtown and marched on Congress Street, holding up signs and chanting, “My body, my choice.”

“Roe was always the floor when it came to abortion access and now they have taken the floor out from under us,” Fitch-Heacock said.

In response to the ruling, Mayor Regina Romero tweeted on Friday about the recent resolution the Tucson City Council passed, which authorizes Police Chief Chad Kasmar to revise the police department’s general orders that “no physical arrest will be made by an officer for an alleged violation” of abortion laws.

Abortion rights supporters spill out onto Congress Street in downtown Tucson on Friday evening, blocking traffic.

“Though not unexpected, this infringement of our rights is hard to accept. The Supreme Court has delivered a wrecking ball, dismantling the rights of SOME people in this country to make decisions about themselves and their own bodies, including accessing abortion services and reproductive healthcare,” Romero said in the tweet. “The decision itself, and Justice Thomas’s concurring opinion, opens the door to further attacks on the rights of people, including access to birth control, the right to marry who you love, and more.

“We know this issue will disproportionately impact women and people of color so in collaboration with Chief Kasmar and County Attorney Laura Conover, Tucson residents will not face arrest or prosecution,” the mayor tweeted.

Since Friday’s ruling, Tucson’s two abortion clinics, Planned Parenthood and the Choices Women’s Center, have cancelled abortion appointments until Arizona’s law is clarified, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

Tear gas fired in Phoenix

In Phoenix on Friday night, police fired tear gas from the windows of the Arizona Capitol building to disperse hundreds of people demonstrating outside, as lawmakers briefly huddled in a basement.

The lawmakers were working to complete their 2022 session as thousands of protesters gathered on the Capitol grounds, divided into groups condemning and supporting the Roe v. Wade decision.

SWAT team members with the Department of Public Safety fired tear gas from the building to disperse the protesters. The Arizona Republic and KPHO-TV reported the officers opened fire when several protesters started banging on glass doors of the building.

The incident sent Senate lawmakers into the basement of the building for about 20 minutes, said Democratic Sen. Martin Quezada. Stinging tear gas wafted through the Capitol afterward, forcing the Senate to move its proceedings to a hearing room instead of the Senate chamber.

A DPS statement Saturday morning did not indicate if there were any arrests, but did note that several memorials and other structures on the Capitol grounds were vandalized.

Arizona Senate Republicans later released a statement that said, in part: “Violent pro-abortion protestors attempts of an insurrection at the Arizona State Senate were thwarted Friday night, thanks to the swift action from local and state law enforcement.”

Thousands of abortion rights supporters turned out to protest the overturning of Roe v. Wade, including marching through the streets of downtown for hours. Video by Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.