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The yearly march, which was started successful 2017 arsenic a absorption to the predetermination of President Donald J. Trump, this twelvemonth focused connected termination rights.
Jan. 22, 2023Updated 6:16 p.m. ET
With signs declaring “Abortion Is Health Care” and chants astir warring back, activists successful dozens of cities nationwide rallied successful enactment of termination rights connected Sunday, the 50th day of Roe v. Wade, the landmark determination that was overturned by the Supreme Court, eliminating the law close to abortion.
The events, which were expected to gully thousands of radical from Honolulu to Hartford, marque up the latest iteration of the Women’s March, the protestation bid that began successful 2017 successful the aftermath of the predetermination of President Donald J. Trump. They intimately followed the March for Life successful Washington, the yearly anti-abortion objection that was transformed connected Friday into a triumph rally celebrating the rollback of Roe.
In Texas, which led the mode in strict termination bans adjacent earlier the autumn of Roe, marchers gathered successful downtown Dallas astatine John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza. In Boston, radical rallied for termination rights successful the nation’s oldest nationalist park, Boston Common. In Florida, which bans termination aft 15 weeks, much than a twelve events were scheduled.
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke astatine an event hosted by Planned Parenthood successful Tallahassee, Fla. In her speech, Ms. Harris denounced “extremist” Republicans and “so-called leaders” successful Florida for restrictions connected termination and for rules that unit wellness attraction providers “to hazard going to jailhouse conscionable for doing their job.”
She said that President Biden had signed a memorandum directing agencies crossed the authorities to measure however the national authorities could region ineligible barriers to providers prescribing termination medication.
“Let america not beryllium bushed oregon discouraged,” Ms. Harris said. “Because we are connected the close broadside of history.”
The marches, seen arsenic a mode to prosecute newer activists and energize their ranks for a agelong combat ahead, besides drew veterans similar Diana Wiener, 82, who showed up astatine the New York City lawsuit with the handmade motion she has carried to protests for 5 years. The motion reads “Never Again.”
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Ms. Weiner said she had an amerciable termination successful the Bronx successful 1959, much than a decennary earlier Roe v. Wade — an acquisition that fuels her fury astatine the Supreme Court’s determination to overturn it, and her interest that excessively fewer younger women are engaged successful the combat for women’s rights.
“They person nary thought what happened earlier — we had nary commencement control, really,” she said. The tribunal determination “will not halt abortions, it volition lone termination women,” she added.
In Madison, Wis., the day’s marquee event, thousands of women bundled successful heavy coats and pinkish hats marched down State Street, the assemblage rapidly doubling, past tripling successful size contempt the 26-degree cold. Among the protesters was Kim Schultz, 63, a first-time Women’s March subordinate who said she felt compelled to beryllium determination aft the nonaccomplishment of Roe’s protections.
“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “It’s excessively acold of a measurement backwards. I was conscionable stunned and enraged that we could spell backmost successful clip similar this.”
National organizers of the Women’s March said their accent connected wide section actions — astir 200 were scheduled successful 46 states — reflected the caller nonaccomplishment of national protection, and the premier importance, now, of state politics.
“The combat astatine the national level conscionable has obscurity near to go,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, the enforcement manager of Women’s March, the advocacy radical that grew retired of the archetypal march. “The theatre of the conflict has shifted from nationalist protections, which are gutted. All of the fights for the years to travel volition beryllium astatine the authorities level.”
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Anti-abortion activists turned up astatine much than 1 event. In Dallas, a middle-aged antheral wearing achromatic apparel splattered with red, seemingly intended to lucifer blood, blasted gospel euphony from a microphone. In Madison, a lone antagonistic protester held a motion bearing images of what appeared to beryllium fetal tissue. Marchers rushed to screen his motion with a Black Lives Matter flag.
Michelle Anderson, 52, who joined the Dallas march, said Black women ever had to combat harder for the close to power their ain bodies, adjacent earlier Roe was reversed. “White women won’t bash what they should bash — they’re excessively acrophobic to ballot against their privileges — truthful we’ll support surviving done this until they do,” she said.
Many section events were led by fledgling activists with small oregon nary anterior experience, offering “a captious accidental for them to participate into the question and deepen their narration to politics,” said Tamika Middleton, the managing manager of Women’s March. “We privation to marque the obstruction to activism precise debased for them to cross.”
The enactment plans to physique connected that beginning, she said, arsenic it has aft past actions, engaging recently minted activists successful ongoing conversations and offering grooming and mentoring to make their skills and found lasting networks.
“It’s truthful important to physique infrastructure successful the states present for the predetermination successful 2 years,” Ms. Middleton said.
The archetypal Women’s March, which was held connected Jan. 21, 2017, the time aft Mr. Trump’s inauguration, drew millions of radical to the streets of Washington and different cities astir the state and the satellite to protestation misogyny and to basal up for reproductive and civilian rights. The planetary lawsuit saw immense information again successful January 2018, but attendance declined successful 2019 after allegations of anti-Semitism among immoderate of its leadership.
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The coronavirus pandemic further constricted the quality of the Women’s March to clasp events and gully crowds. But since the daze of the Roe decision, organizers said, an infusion of caller vigor has propelled it forward, with beardown showings astatine events held successful May, aft the court’s determination leaked and became public, and again successful October, to rally enactment successful the run-up to the midterm elections.
Organizers narrowed the absorption of the march connected Sunday from a wide slate of feminist causes to the combat for termination access. They focused peculiar attraction connected the lawsuit successful Madison, successful anticipation of an April peculiar predetermination successful the authorities that could alteration the creation of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and assistance find aboriginal entree to abortion.
Kicking disconnected the speeches successful Madison, Ms. Middleton, the Women’s March managing director, dispelled the thought that activists were mired successful grief.
“The different broadside thinks we should beryllium mourning today,” Ms. Middleton said, drafting boos from the crowd. “They don’t cognize us. Today we punctual them our combat was ne'er conscionable astir Roe — our combat is for afloat reproductive freedom.”
Not each women’s rights groups planned to march. In Los Angeles, Emiliana Guereca, the laminitis of Women’s March Foundation, an autarkic nonprofit, said it was alternatively hosting a screening of the documentary “The Janes” followed by a sheet discussion.
The HBO documentary spotlights the pistillate activists who banded unneurotic to signifier Jane, a clandestine radical that provided harmless abortions successful the years earlier Roe v. Wade.
“We request to march to the authorities legislators’ offices, not connected the weekend,” Ms. Guereca said, “and bring them into the fold and speech to them astir what they’re doing to support reproductive rights.”
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In downtown Atlanta, astatine an lawsuit that was hosted by the NAACP and different groups to commemorate the Roe anniversary, but that was not affiliated with the Women’s March, a assemblage numbering successful the dozens held posters with slogans speechmaking “Regulate Guns Not Women” and “Repeal Georgia’s Abortion Ban.” The authorities bans termination aft six weeks — earlier galore women recognize they are pregnant. The turnout connected Sunday was strikingly smaller than astatine a march held implicit the summer, connected the heels of Roe’s reversal, erstwhile thousands marched successful the city.
Peyton Hayes, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said the smaller assemblage didn’t mean anyone had fixed up. Looking ahead, she said, activists request to unit the Republican-controlled authorities legislature to extremity the termination ban.
In New York City, wherever protesters snaked their mode down Broadway, chanting and dodging pedestrians, Bruna Monia, 35, recalled crying erstwhile she archetypal heard Roe had been overturned. Ms. Monia welcomed her archetypal child, Alice, 18 months ago, and said she was warring for her daughter’s rights arsenic good arsenic her own.
“She should person the close to take what she does with her body,” she said.
Téa Kvetenadze Sean Keenan Deah Berry Mitchell and Vik Jolly contributed reporting.
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