Dueling protests took place in downtown Kelowna Sunday afternoon after the U.S. Supreme Court voted to reverse a decision from 1973 that any unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional.

Candace Banks organized a pro-choice march from City Park to the steps of the courthouse to fight against the ruling.

鈥淭o know that this is my third decade that I have been promoting reproductive rights and that I鈥檝e been fighting for reproductive rights, it鈥檚 tiresome, it鈥檚 sad, and it just makes me really angry.鈥�

Banks noted how a decision like this by our neighbours will impact us in Canada.

鈥淭he [U.S.] controls everything from contraception to the circulation of women鈥檚 health needs, and if they are shut down it will mean so much despair for us women here.鈥�

Bev Edwards-Sawatzky joined the march with her husband and a few friends to stand in solidarity with American women after the decision to reverse the Roe v. Wade ruling.

鈥淚鈥檓 horrified by the politics of what happened on one day; these nine people decided to not only strike down access to abortion for women they also struck down a state鈥檚 right to ban handguns. And they talk about right to life and sanctity of life,鈥� Edwards-Sawatzky said. 鈥淭hose two pieces of legislation left me really distressed, angry, and I just want to be a part of support the women of the world.鈥�

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On the flip side, a group of pro-life protesters gathered outside city hall to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Denise Mountenay attended as a former abortion patient and to spread the message of how abortion impacted her.

鈥淚 know the lies that I was told, that pregnant women are told, the pressure to have abortions, and the lies that it鈥檚 a safe procedure,鈥� Mountenay said. 鈥淭here are 61 studies in peer-review medical journals linking breast cancer to abortion.

鈥淲e鈥檙e here today because we鈥檙e excited about Roe v Wade being overturned. We want justice for children, for life in the womb. My message is that abortion hurt me, hurts women, and killed my children, that it鈥檚 a wrong and not a right, and the choice to have your baby killed should be unthinkable.鈥�

Things remained civil between the two groups. The march bypassed city hall and RCMP were stationed nearby as a precaution.

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