Thousands of protesters joined the Rally for Abortion Justice in the streets of downtown Washington D.C. on Oct. 2, 2021 to protest for women’s reproductive rights. The march started at Freedom Plaza and ended at the Supreme Court. This same march took place in more than 600 cities across the country.
The march’s primary motivation was a recent restrictive abortion bill. In Texas on Sept. 1, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott passed a law preventing abortions past six weeks into a pregnancy. However, according to OnHealth.com, most people don’t know they are pregnant at just six weeks. This means most women in Texas do not even have a choice to have an abortion. Before the abortion ban passed, about 54,000 abortions took place in Texas, 85% of which took place after the six week mark, according to CNN.
Cristela Alonzo was the host for the Rally for Abortion Justice in D.C. She spoke of her mother in a Mexican town, where women were considered inferior to men.
Her mother left Alonzo’s abusive father, who had been treating her as an object and making the rules for her. Alonzo’s mother was the first in her family to leave an abusive relationship. Her mother, who was pregnant at the time, decided to move to the US.
“She was the most patriotic person I knew; she taught me to love this country,” Alonzo said. “She told me that this was the place where dreams were possible. It was the land of opportunity.”
Alonzo was raised on the belief of equality. She was disappointed that Governor Abbott would set a law like this in place. She was a powerful speaker at the rally and very influential. She shared that women are capable of making their own choices.
During the march, multiple chants were yelled throughout the group like “What does democracy look like?” and the crowd responded with “This is what democracy looks like!” As the group was heading to the Supreme Court, they passed the Trump International Hotel, and everyone was shouting “Shame!” One of the most moving aspects of the rally was that women and men of all ages and races came.
The group marched past the Capitol building and the final destination was the Supreme Court. At the Supreme Court, they were met by the Capitol police and a few people applauded them for their help on the Capitol attack on Jan. 6.
However, the march was not just spreading the message of women’s and abortion rights. People brought pride flags and included chants of other movements.
Awareness about a woman’s right to control her own body is extremely important and anyone who supports this movement should stand up for what’s right. As Alonzo stated at the end of her speech, “We want the rights that we are supposed to have as people in a country that says we’re supposed to be equal.”
By Isabel Robbins and Parisa Salehi
