Thousands of people, many dressed in pink, marched in the streets throughout the United States on Saturday to demand safe and legal Abortion Rights.
The protests are in response to a leaked draft judgment indicating that the conservative majority on the US Supreme Court was considering overturning Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 decision guaranteeing abortion access nationally.
“I just think that nobody has the right to make a decision on somebody else’s body,” said Hanna Williamson, 20, from the city of Suffolk, Virginia, who drove three hours to join several thousand protesters in Washington.
“I think it should be left up to every individual. I am fighting for everyone else’s rights in this.
Approximately 3,000 people gathered in Brooklyn’s major square to hoist a massive pink banner that said, Our Bodies. Our Futures. Our Abortions”.
Protesters included Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other powerful Democrats of all genders and ages, with many wearing green.
Linda Sarsour, a women’s rights activist, told reporters, These are a group of people in this country that are attempting to deconstruct 60 years of civil rights and civil freedoms in the United States of America.
“And so we respect everybody’s right to hold whatever religious belief or whatever opinion they have on an issue like abortion, women’s reproductive rights, but what we want you to know is that you can be you and allow people to still have access to safe, affordable, women’s reproductive (care),” Sarsour stated.
Thousands more protested in Texas and Kentucky, and hundreds more smaller gatherings around the country were planned.
“This Saturday, our elected leaders hear us, Supreme Court justices hear us, companies who’ve funded anti-abortion interests hear us,” Sonja Spoo, director of reproductive rights campaigns at the advocacy group UltraViolet, said earlier in the day.
“We will be prepared to meet the moment, whether that’s rallying in the streets, petitioning state officials – whatever it takes.”
The draft opinion’s release sparked outrage about the potential reversal of abortion rights ahead of November’s crucial midterm elections, in which both chambers of Congress are up for grabs.
Democrats have tried to make abortion rights a federal statute in an attempt to pin Republicans down on the controversial topic ahead of the election.
