WASHINGTON — In light of news of a potential overturn of Roe v. Wade, major activist groups are collectively taking a stance and organizing a rally in support of reproductive rights.
The rally is set to take place on Saturday, May 14 at noon in D.C. at the Northeast side of the Washington Monument. Around 2 p.m. the participants plan to march to the Supreme Court, according to the event notice. It is estimated that around 17,000 people will participate in the rally, according to the rally's permit.
Melissa Bianco came up from South Carolina for the march, convinced her state will be among the first to ban all abortions.
"My mom marched for our rights, for my rights, for our generation. I'm here with my daughter, to fight for her rights, our future," Bianco said, her voice breaking and tears welling up in her eyes.
Bianco and her daughter checked into the women's empowerment-centered Hotel Zena in Logan Circle, where a piece of artwork celebrating the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg made from 20,000 hand-painted tampons hangs in the lobby. RBG would be, Hotel Manager Sherry Abedi said RBG would be "rolling over," if she knew what was happening now.
"It's opposite everything she fought for," Abedi said.
Reproductive rights protestors have been marching on the homes of Supreme Court justices, to a lot of pushback. But organizers say this will be a more conventional protest. They'll rally at the Washington Monument starting at noon. Then they plan to march up Constitution Avenue past the Capitol and on to the Supreme Court.
"People are upset, and people are willing to go to the streets," said Kayla Marquez of Planned Parenthood. "No bans are going to dictate our bodily autonomy."
In late April, Politico released a leaked draft opinion of the Supreme Court possibly overturning the case of Roe v. Wade which granted people the right to abortion in the U.S.
However, in recent months the discussion over abortion has become a topic of debate, especially after Texas' passed a law in 2021 that restricted abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
More recently, abortion access was one of the defining topics in Virginia's Gubernatorial race between Terry McCauliffe and Glenn Youngkin in 2021. Currently, Virginia sits on the edge of the decision. The state's senate breaks nearly down the middle between party lines, leaving democrats in the majority with 21 elected officials and republicans in the minority with 19 elected officials.