On Saturday, thousands of protesters gathered in Washington D.C., persisting through rainy weather and risking arrest to urge President Biden to take action against the reversal of abortion rights that occurred last month.
Surrounding the sides of the White House, demonstrators chanted “we won’t go back” while some tied themselves to the gates with green bandanas that read “bans off our bodies.” Organizers estimated that 10,000 people had congregated in the nation’s capital from across the U.S. to fight for abortion access.
Lauren Pierce, an attorney from Dallas, Texas, had travelled approximately 1,300 miles to take part in the demonstration. She sympathized with Texans that had suddenly found themselves without access to reproductive care, choosing to attend the protest in order to fight for the rights of women across the country.
“There’s nothing, to me, more worth fighting for than this cause – our fundamental right to have bodily autonomy,” said Ms. Pierce. “If that means taking up space and getting arrested then I think it’s worth it.”
The protest took place one day after President Biden released an executive order designed to ensure access to abortion medication and emergency contraception; growing frustration over President Biden’s lack of further action to protect abortion access led to activists taking matters into their own hands in an effort to be heard.
“We know there are limits to his authority, but we want him to push that authority to its limit,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March. “We’re calling on President Biden to continue to take steps to protect abortion nationally, and if he can’t do anything more from behind his desk he should get out into the streets.”
In the upcoming weeks, 40 million women of reproductive age are expected to lose their once-guaranteed access to abortion. 10 U.S. states, including Texas, have already prohibited abortion, and dozens of others are expected to follow suit.
Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62109971
Surrounding the sides of the White House, demonstrators chanted “we won’t go back” while some tied themselves to the gates with green bandanas that read “bans off our bodies.” Organizers estimated that 10,000 people had congregated in the nation’s capital from across the U.S. to fight for abortion access.
Lauren Pierce, an attorney from Dallas, Texas, had travelled approximately 1,300 miles to take part in the demonstration. She sympathized with Texans that had suddenly found themselves without access to reproductive care, choosing to attend the protest in order to fight for the rights of women across the country.
“There’s nothing, to me, more worth fighting for than this cause – our fundamental right to have bodily autonomy,” said Ms. Pierce. “If that means taking up space and getting arrested then I think it’s worth it.”
The protest took place one day after President Biden released an executive order designed to ensure access to abortion medication and emergency contraception; growing frustration over President Biden’s lack of further action to protect abortion access led to activists taking matters into their own hands in an effort to be heard.
“We know there are limits to his authority, but we want him to push that authority to its limit,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March. “We’re calling on President Biden to continue to take steps to protect abortion nationally, and if he can’t do anything more from behind his desk he should get out into the streets.”
In the upcoming weeks, 40 million women of reproductive age are expected to lose their once-guaranteed access to abortion. 10 U.S. states, including Texas, have already prohibited abortion, and dozens of others are expected to follow suit.
Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62109971
