Leeds group set to take stand in support of women's reproductive rights after abortion bans in USA

The supreme court has ruled there is no constitutional right to abortion in the USA, upending the landmark Roe v Wade case from over 50 years ago.

Within hours of the decision, multiple states across the USA moved to introduce abortion bans.

Reclaim The Night Leeds have arranged a 'supportive social' to show solidarity with women across the pond, which will feature 'protest, poetry and performance for reproductive rights'.

Protestors will be gathering today in Victoria Gardens at Leeds Art Gallery between 5pm and 7pm.

On Twitter, Reclaim The Night Leeds said: "Share moments of protest and performance, bring your words, thoughts, hopes and fears as we say abortion rights are human rights."

There will be an open mic and those attending have been encouraged to bring their words and music, as well as their 'hopes and fears' to be written down on an El Tendedero, an installation comprised of a pink clothesline with pegs and pink slips.

A flower mandala will also be built, for which people have been encouraged to bring petals and leaves.

The group has been campaigning for women's rights for over 40 years and held their 44th annual protest in Leeds city centre last November.

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The decision to overturn Roe v Wade has been condemned by USA president Joe Biden, who has described it as a "tragic error", and he has urged states to introduce laws allowing abortion.

Protests have erupted across the USA and on Friday, a pro-choice activist climbed the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington D.C. in opposition to the supreme court ruling.