WASHINGTON – Thousands of marchers converged on the nation’s capital and across the country on Saturday to show support for abortion rights nearly two weeks after the leak of a draft Court opinion. Supreme will overturn Roe v. Wade.
A crowd of protesters gathered near the Washington Monument before marching to the Supreme Court, with some wearing shirts that read “Bans Off Our Bodies” and “Keep A Safe Abortion and Legal”. They vowed to fight to protect abortion rights, even as some accept that Roe will most likely be exposed.
Colleen Lunsford, 42, an attorney from Arlington, Va., Brings her 5-year-old daughter, Orla. Pointing to her daughter, she said she attended the march for her “future and autonomy”.
Ms Lunsford said: “I was absolutely terrified. “We did our best to elect a Democratic president and the House and Senate, and this is still happening.”
Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of Women’s March, a nonprofit that has helped organize the event and other rallies in support of women’s rights, said more than 450 rallies across the country water will take place on Saturday. Organizers had planned a nationwide march for abortion rights before the draft opinion was leaked, but they quickly followed up the event after the opinion was announced. Ms O’Leary Carmona said she hoped the events would allow protesters to “build power, both civically and electorally”.
“People who are campaigning because they find it’s later than we thought,” she said.
The marches took place after this month’s publication of draft opinion, suggesting that the Supreme Court seemed poised to overturn Roe, the landmark 1973 decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion. The court’s ruling is expected until June or early July.
With the midterm elections a few months away, President Biden and Democrats are hoping to use the issue to energize voters. Democratic Senator failed on Wednesday to push for legislation to secure abortion rights nationally in the face of opposition from Republicans and a Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia.
In Washington, Elizabeth Moser, 34, a communications specialist from Burke, Va., said she hopes the marches will encourage voters and politicians.
Although she planned to vote midterm, she said she is now considering directing people to the polls and texting her friends to encourage them to join other rallies in support of the election. abortion rights.
Ms. Moser, who wore a red bandana and held up a sign that read “I’m not going back to the 1950s quietly,” said: “I’m trying to build a movement here. ”
In Brooklyn, thousands of abortion rights advocates gathered at Cadman Plaza Park before marching to Foley Square in Lower Manhattan. Volunteers hand out snacks and signs with phrases like “Stand with Black Women.”
For some, opposing the draft is not just about defending the right to abortion.
Lillian Penafiel, 35, and his wife, Emi Penafiel, 44, worry about what the ruling will mean for marriage equality, LGBTQ rights and voting rights.
“They were very clear, especially from what was written, that our rights would also be at stake, so that’s why we were worried,” said Emi Penafiel. “They’re coming after all.”
Madeleine Corn reported from Washington, and Lola Fadulu from New York.
