WASHINGTON — The annual Women's March will return to D.C. on Saturday in support of reproductive and abortion rights alongside hundreds of other planned marches across the country.
The event comes on the heels of a strict Texas law that prohibits abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The federal government is trying to stop the measure after the Supreme Court declined to block it.
The U.S. Supreme Court reconvenes in a few days, with the future of Roe v. Wade in question as a case in Mississippi moves forward with a hearing scheduled in December.
"Being legal does not mean being accessible and for many people, abortion has already been out of reach and what this means is it's a disaster in a sense it will get away from folks who need it the most," Women's March Executive Director Rachel O'Leary Carmona said.
Carmona said there are more than 650 marches planned in different cities across the country, including smaller cities. The event in D.C. could see up to 10,000 people.
"We're seeing a lot of energy and particularly a lot of energy around in the states which is great because that's where we need to build that momentum," Carmona added.
The event will start at Freedom Plaza with a faith gathering at 10 a.m. The rally officially starts at noon with the march kicking off at 1:30 p.m. The full event details can be found here.
The following streets will be posted as Emergency No Parking on Saturday, October 2, 2021 from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.:
- Pennsylvania Avenue from 15th Street to 3rd Street, NW
- 14th Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to F Street, NW
- 13th Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to F Street, NW
- E Street from 12th Street from 14th Street, NW
There will be an opposition rally happening at the same time from the group Students for Life of America. Organizers will counter the Women's March along with other planned demonstrations in Austin and Jackson. They will be carrying signs that read, "The Future is Anti-Abortion."
"We want to say to people if they're pro-life and feel like they're being silenced and feel like they're the only ones, that they're not," Brooke Paz of SFLA told WUSA9. "We're out there to represent you all, women who experienced miscarriage, who experienced abortion and regret it and women who have been harmed by abortion. We're here for you, we hear you and we're here to help."
The SFLA demonstration in the city will also happen at Freedom Plaza and the Supreme Court.
“Making the Women’s March a hostile place for pro-life women shows that the purpose of this march isn’t about supporting women,” said Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins. “This isn’t a ‘women's' march, it’s an abortion march at which radical feminists sell out women by throwing away all issues except ending preborn life. The message that women must choose between career and family is modern misogyny that undercuts all of us.”