Tens of thousands of demonstrators are taking the streets in hundreds of protests across the country Saturday to defend abortion rights following a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark law that legalized abortion nationwide.
From Maine to Hawaii, protesters are turning out to more than 370 rallies, with the largest gatherings expected in New York, Chicago, Austin, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The demonstrations dubbed as “Bans Off Our Bodies” actions by organizers are intended to show the “serious threat” abortion rights are facing and add pressure on lawmakers to find ways to codify those rights in federal and state laws, they said.
A majority of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, but many remain open to certain restrictions around it, according to the Pew Research Center.
“We are losing the rights to our bodies in 2022,” a young woman in the Washington, D.C. rally said.
She joined crowds of people who initially gathered at the Washington Monument voicing their fears of a future without access to legal abortions and many of whom expressed concern that overturning Roe could lead to additional reproduction health care restrictions.
