Thousands of protesters gathered in Monroe Park in Richmond in support of abortion access after a leaked draft of a majority opinion indicated the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Bans Off Our Bodies protest, which took place in several cities across the country on Saturday, was part of a national day of action in support of reproductive rights. Protesters, donned in pink clothing and carrying signs, rallied in the park in solidarity.
“I think when people wake up and understand that their rights are being directly threatened, they’re going to fight for them,” said RaeAnn R. Pickett, communications director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia and the Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance organized the protest alongside numerous organizations dedicated to supporting reproductive rights. State partners, advocates and community members were also invited to stand in solidarity to protest the anticipated ruling.
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Ammie Pascua, director of movement building with the Hampton Roads Reproductive Justice League, said Virginia needs to change its focus from reproductive rights to reproductive justice.
“We need to start looking at a better framework — environmental, social and economic — because the systems that we have in place to care for people have crumbled and are failing,” Pascua said.
The 1973 Roe v. Wade decision has given Americans access to abortions for about 50 years. Abortion is legal in Virginia, but if the Supreme Court were to overturn the decision, almost half of the states in the U.S. would be poised to ban abortions using restrictive legislation.
“For the future of reproductive rights in Virginia, I want it to shift from rights to justice,” Pascua said.
Many in attendance brought their children, such as mother and doula Lisa Brown, who traveled from Charlottesville with her daughter, Kaia. Brown said she had an abortion at 17, which allowed her to continue pursuing her education at Virginia Commonwealth University, she said.
“I really live by the fact that this is intergenerational and intersectional,” she said.
Mariella Gallardo, a nurse living in Chesterfield County, attended alongside her daughter, Jocelyn. As a nurse, she said every woman deserves good health care.
“If they ban abortions, what are we going to do?” Gallardo asked. “Do back-alley abortions again? I just want to show my daughter that you have to fight for your rights.”
During the demonstrations, a woman with a boy sitting on her shoulders was called to the front of the crowd. The boy held a sign made from a cardboard box: “I’m four, and even I understand bodily autonomy.”
LaTwyla Mathias, executive director of Progress Virginia, said the organization was participating in solidarity with the 80% of Virginians who support abortion access and believe it should be legal, according to a news release from Progress Virginia.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck situation,” she said. “Everyone needs to be involved in this fight for reproductive justice.”
Some protesters said they had been invested in the fight for abortion access for generations.
John Morand of Richmond, who was attending with his daughter, said they had been “fighting for this forever.”
“The majority of Virginians support reproductive rights, so that should translate into legislation that protects it,” he said. “But it’s a fight that’s got to be taken up by everyone.”
Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, who was a month old when Roe v. Wade was decided, said she was tired of fighting the same battle as her mother, her grandmother and her great-grandmother. She urged people to use their frustration and fatigue to fuel the next stage of the efforts.
“Together, we will ensure that my daughter and my son, my grandchildren and your grandchildren, are not going to fight the same fight,” McClellan said.