Women’s March targets Supreme Court, with abortion on line

WASHINGTON — The archetypal Women’s March of the Biden medication headed consecutive for the steps of the Supreme Court connected Saturday, portion of nationwide protests that drew thousands to Washington to request continued entree to termination successful a twelvemonth erstwhile blimpish lawmakers and judges person enactment it successful jeopardy.

Demonstrators filled the streets surrounding the court, shouting “My body, my choice” and cheering loudly to the bushed of drums.

Before heading retired connected the march, they rallied successful a quadrate adjacent the White House, waving signs that said “Mind your ain uterus,” “I emotion idiosyncratic who had an abortion” and “Abortion is simply a idiosyncratic choice, not a ineligible debate,” among different messages. Some wore T-shirts speechmaking simply “1973,” a notation to the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which made termination ineligible for generations of American women.

Elaine Baijal, a 19-year-old pupil astatine American University, said her parent told her of coming to a march for ineligible termination with her ain parent successful the 1970s. “It’s bittersweet that we inactive person to combat for our close 40 years later. But it’s a contented I privation to continue,” Baijal said of the march.

Organizers accidental the Washington march was among hundreds of abortion-themed protests held astir the state Saturday. The demonstrations took spot 2 days earlier the commencement of a caller word for the Supreme Court that volition determine the aboriginal of termination rights successful the United States, aft appointments of justices by President Donald Trump strengthened blimpish power of the precocious court.

“Shame, shame, shame!” marchers chanted portion walking past the Trump International Hotel connected their mode to the Supreme Court. Some booed and waved their fists astatine the Trump landmark.

The time earlier the march, the Biden medication urged a national justice to artifact the nation’s astir restrictive termination law, which has banned astir abortions successful Texas since aboriginal September. It’s 1 of a bid of cases that volition springiness the nation’s divided precocious tribunal juncture to uphold oregon overrule Roe v. Wade.

The Texas instrumentality motivated galore of the demonstrators and speakers.

“We’re going to support giving it to Texas,” Marsha Jones of the Afiya Center for Black women’s wellness attraction successful Dallas, pledged to the Washington crowd. “You tin nary longer archer america what to bash with our bodies!”

Alexis McGill Johnson, the president of Planned Parenthood nationally, told of women forced to thrust galore hours crossed authorities lines — sometimes aggregate authorities lines — to extremity pregnancies successful the weeks since the Texas instrumentality went into effect.

“The infinitesimal is acheronian … but that is wherefore we are here,” Johnson told the assemblage packed into Freedom Square and surrounding streets. With the upcoming Supreme Court term, “No substance wherever you are, this combat is astatine your doorstep close now.”

In Springfield, Illinois, respective 100 radical rallied connected the Old State Capitol square. Prominent among them were the Illinois Handmaids, wearing reddish robes and achromatic bonnets reminiscent of the subjugated women of Margaret Atwood’s caller “The Handmaid’s Tale” and carrying signs that said, “Mind Your Own Uterus” and “Mother By Choice.”

Brigid Leahy, elder manager of nationalist argumentation for Planned Parenthood of Illinois, said conscionable 2 days aft the Texas restrictions took effect, Planned Parenthood saw the archetypal women from Texas traveling to Illinois for the procedure, with much pursuing since.

“They are trying to fig retired paying for airfare oregon state oregon a bid ticket, they whitethorn request edifice and meals,” Leahy said. “They person to fig retired clip disconnected of work, and they person to fig retired kid care. This tin beryllium a existent struggle.”

With a motion speechmaking “Not this again” attached to a apparel hanger, Gretchen Snow of Bloomington, Illinois, said, “Women request to beryllium harmless and they request to not person to interest astir however overmuch wealth they person to beryllium safe.”

Thousands gathered astatine the Colorado State Capitol Saturday successful enactment of reproductive state for all, Robert Garrison of Denver7 reported.

“I’m retired present this greeting due to the fact that I conscionable consciousness similar you should beryllium capable to take the household that you privation to have,” said Leah Mendel, a pro-choice rally participant.

Congresswoman Diana DeGette, D-Colo., and Vicki Cowart, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, were among respective who spoke astatine the women’s march rally connected the westbound steps of the capitol building.

On the West Coast, thousands marched done downtown Los Angeles to a rally successful beforehand of City Hall. Protesters chanted “Abortion connected request and without apology: lone gyration tin marque women free!”

Kayla Selsi said she was carrying the aforesaid motion she has held successful 3 past Women’s Marches. It stated, “If lone my vagina could sprout bullets, it volition beryllium little regulated.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t discontinue this sign,” Selsi said. “Women’s rights are being taken away, and it’s highly affecting women of little class.”

“I consciousness safer successful California arsenic a woman, but Texas is evidently going successful 1 absorption and it scares maine that different states could spell the aforesaid way,” she said.

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke astatine rallies successful Seneca Falls and past Albany. “I’m sick and bushed of having to combat implicit termination rights,” she said. “It’s settled instrumentality successful the federation and you are not taking that close distant from us, not present not ever.”

At an unrelated lawsuit successful Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins called the Texas instrumentality “extreme, inhumane and unconstitutional” and said she’s moving to marque Roe v. Wade the “law of the land.”

She said she’s moving with 2 Democrats and different Republican, and they’re “vetting” the connection of their bill. Collins declined to place her colleagues, but said the authorities volition beryllium introduced soon.

An hostile of women’s entree to termination called this year’s march taxable “macabre.”

“What astir adjacent rights for unborn women?” tweeted Jeanne Mancini, president of an anti-abortion radical called March for Life.

The Women’s March has go a regular lawsuit — though interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic — since millions of women turned retired successful the United States and astir the satellite the time aft the January 2017 inauguration of Trump. Trump endorsed punishing women for getting abortions and made assignment of blimpish judges a ngo of his presidency.

With the prima beating down successful Washington connected Saturday, Ramsay Teviotdale of Arlington, Virginia — who erstwhile asked her property said she was “old capable to retrieve erstwhile termination wasn’t legal” — was 1 of the fewer wearing the hand-knitted pinkish wool caps that distinguished the 2017 Women’s March.

Without Trump arsenic a cardinal fig for women of varied governmental beliefs to rally against, and with the pandemic inactive going strong, organizers talked of hundreds of thousands of participants nationally Saturday, not the millions of 2017.

Teviotdale said this does not lessen the urgency of the moment. “This Texas happening — nary mode tin it stand. It’s the bladed borderline of the wedge,” she said.

Security successful the superior was overmuch lighter than for a governmental rally a fewer weeks agone successful enactment of Trump supporters jailed successful the Jan. 6 insurrection. No obstruction was placed astir the U.S. Capitol, with the Capitol Police main saying determination was thing to suggest Saturday’s rally would beryllium violent.

John O’Connor successful Springfield, Illinois; David Sharp successful Bath, Maine; and Daisy Nguyen successful San Francisco contributed.

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