Several hundred demonstrators gathered and marched through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, channeling anger, frustration and grief as they denounced the Supreme Court’s decision to end a constitutional right to abortion.
In Grand Park — in the heart of downtown’s Civic Center — more than 200 people had assembled by mid-morning, with scores chanting, “My body, my choice,” on the steps of nearby City Hall. Signs waved by protesters declared, “You are only banning safe abortions” and “I am woman watch me vote.”
Through the morning and early afternoon, the crowd grew and hundreds trooped through the city streets, stopping at Crypto.com Arena and L.A. Live before returning to the steps of City Hall.
“I had to literally come down here today because I have nowhere to put my emotion, my fear, my anger, and my sorrow,” said 52-year-old Jennifer Jonassen.
Jonassen said she was on Zoom Friday attending a professional development course when she learned of the court’s decision, which left her in tears. Anger propelled her and others to join Saturday’s protest: “Clearly being submissive and quiet has done nothing,” she said.
The move by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision closely followed a leaked draft of the ruling published this spring by Politico. Still, the final ruling shocked and saddened scores across Southern California.
“I felt we were going backwards,” said Therese Zipperman, 33, describing her response to the ruling. “I worried about my future — women’s future.”
Zipperman drove from her residence in Burbank to join demonstrators Saturday in downtown L.A., where women chanted, “Two-four-six-eight, separate the church and state.”
To Zipperman, attendance at the rally was a way to fight back, along with voting and supporting organizations that advocate for abortion rights. Congress, she said, should make abortion legal across the country: “Legal, accessible, and affordable,” calling it “basic healthcare.”
For Jessi Martinez, 22, coming to downtown from her home in Santa Monica was born out of a need to be around like-minded people.
“It gives people hope — hope in numbers,” said Martinez, who marched Saturday with a “1973” sign that she made herself and hung around her neck.
Martinez lamented the influence of religious views on government policies and how lawmakers were imposing their beliefs on the wider citizenry: “Your religion cannot dictate the laws of the country.”
Helen Li, 25, of Virginia, said the reversal of Roe vs. Wade sparked a conversation in her own family about abortion, and on Saturday she carried a sign outside City Hall that read, “My mother had an abortion so that my sister and I could have a right to life.”
“The right to life, in my opinion, doesn’t just mean conception,” Li said. “It also means, after the baby comes out of the womb, do we have enough resources to support this child?”
She said she attended the rally “to find community” and speak to people who have experienced abortion.
“I think bringing these stories to light is important to start discussions, even within families, because they’re kind of taboo,” she said.
Los Angeles police had not made any arrests in connection with the demonstration as of 4:30 p.m., said Officer Norma Eisenman, an LAPD spokesperson. A group had attempted to march on the southbound 101 Freeway but was blocked by officers on the ramp at Broadway.
In the hours after the ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was released, thousands of protesters in Southern California took to the streets — in Hollywood, Westwood, West Hollywood, Long Beach, Fullerton, Irvine and across the Inland Empire.
From Friday morning until just before…
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