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East Texans react to overturning of Roe v. Wade

People took to the square in downtown Tyler to express joy and anger on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark decision.

TYLER, Texas — The nation is on edge as the right to an abortion has now been stripped away from millions of women.

The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade comes after the draft opinion was leaked about a month ago. 

East Texans took to the streets on Tyler's downtown square with posters in hand and chants expressing their thoughts on the Supreme Court's decision. 

Abortion-rights advocate and member of the Cherokee County Democrats Jennifer Murphy-Vick said this was a decision she didn't see coming to fruition. 

"I was heartbroken, not in my 41 years, my mother who would have been 80 this year would not have seen it in her lifetime after she marched in the 70s," Murphy-Vick said.

The SCOTUS opinion sends the decision on whether or not to ban abortion to the states. Texas has implemented a trigger law that goes into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court judgment is issued. 

Under the Texas trigger law, doctors would face up to life in prison and a $100,000 for performing an abortion. The lone exception to the law would be if a woman's life is in danger. People diagnosed with cancer while pregnant or people suffering from depression or other medical issues would not qualify for the exception. The mother would not face civil or criminal action, according to the law.

Murphy-Vick says it's a decision that shouldn't be up to the government, but should rather be a women's choice. 

"It should not be up to the government to choose for her; if she was raped it should not be up to the government to choose for her," Murphy-Vick said. "The rapists themselves have more rights than people than a woman that has an abortion."

While some may oppose the Supreme Court's decision, others see it as a step in the right direction. Jackie McFadden, president of the Smith County chapter of Right to Life, has been and anti-abortion advocate for years and sees this overturn as a victory. 

"This is a huge first step, I think the overturning of Roe v. Wade is a huge victory for our nation," McFadden said. "I was a sophomore in high school when it first started and just from the very beginning, I thought no, this isn't right, you don't want to destroy your own baby, and we've seen the devastation of thousands of women who still to this day regret their abortion."

With the nation heavily divided on this abortion, some still rely on hope and encourage voters to voice their rights at the polls in upcoming elections. 

RELATED: State, East Texas officials react to Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade

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