Women’s March: Protesters rally for abortion rights ahead of midterms

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Thousands of people will march in cities across the country, including the nation’s capital, to rally for reproductive rights on Saturday, one month before the midterm elections.

This is part of a “Women’s Wave” day of action, organized by the Women’s March and other organizations, to emphasize to supporters that this year’s midterm elections are a crucial time to cast ballots for candidates who support abortion rights.

“Now, everything feels very much like a fight for everything we love,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March. “It’s the first election since Roe has fallen in this new era of American democracy, and it’s really important that women turn out as a voting bloc.”

In D.C., people will start gathering at 11 a.m. at Folger Park for a noon rally. At 1:30 p.m. the march is scheduled to travel from there to Union Square, a public park near the Capitol Reflecting Pool, according to the Women’s March.

Organizers expect 2,000 people at this demonstration, according to a permit issued by the National Park Service. Comedian and actress Lea DeLaria will emcee the event and artists Milck, BIIANCO and Autumn Rowe will perform. Nee Nee Taylor, who is a co-conductor for Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, a local Black-led mutual aid and community defense organization, is scheduled to speak at the D.C. rally.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 49-year-old decision that guaranteed a person’s constitutional right to have an abortion in June, and midterm elections will determine the future of abortion access in states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, where Democratic governors have blocked antiabortion legislation proposed or passed by Republican-led legislatures. The results will also determine which party controls Congress and how much power election deniers could secure in key battleground states ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

On Saturday, there are hundreds of events planned across the country, including in states that have banned or mostly banned abortion, including Arizona, Texas, Louisiana and Idaho, according to the Women’s March. Other organizers include groups like UltraViolet, All* Above All, the National Women’s Law Center, the American Federation of Teachers and local activists.

The first Women’s March, after Trump’s 2016 election, drew millions of protesters to D.C. and marches like it across the country. Thousands of protesters marched in D.C. this May following the leaked draft of an opinion by the Supreme Court signaling that it was positioned to overturn Roe.

Abortion rights advocates with Our Rights DC, a group that has been organizing protests outside the conservative justices’ homes for months, are planning simultaneous protests on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., after the Women’s March, at the homes of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

This article will be updated.