A Bans Off Our Bodies rally attracted thousands of protesters to Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, May 14, 2022 as a part of a nationwide call to action protesting the threat to abortion rights. The Women’s March Foundation, Planned Parenthood and several organizations partnered in response to a leaked draft majority opinion indicating that the United States Supreme Court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Activists staged hundreds of similar rallies across the state and throughout the nation from Long Beach, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, Palos Verdes and Santa Ana, San Francisco, San Diego, and in states like Washington, New York, Illinois, and Texas.
“Thank you Los Angeles!!” Reads a post on the Women’s March Los Angeles chapter. “Today we rallied to make sure that we are not silent on the SCOTUS leak. To PROTECT Roe V. Wade is the fight of our generation. We are ready to rise & continue to fight & advocate for Reproductive Rights. Women’s Rights include Abortion Access! This moment has been 50 years in the making. Stay tuned for Actions in the next coming months. #abortionishealthcare #reproductiverights.”
Some of the signage on display included, “The Women will Remember in November,” “Keep Your rosaries Off My Ovaries,” “Well Will Never Go Back,” “Post Roe Hell No,” and some men were seen carrying signs that read “I’m With Her,” with arrows pointing in all directions.
The Bans off Our Bodies rally began at 10 a.m. Speakers including Women’s March Foundation founder Emiliana Guereca, first partner of California Jennifer Siebel Newsom and LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, who later posted on his Facebook timeline: “I was proud to join Angelenos at the Bans Off Our Bodies Rally to stand in support of women and reproductive access. Reproductive rights are fundamental human rights.”
A Rise for Abortion Rights rally took place in the city of West Hollywood last weekend on Saturday, March 7, 2022. A march around WeHo’s LGBT Rainbow District ended at West Hollywood where the protesters gathered to make signs to use at this Saturday’s Bans Off Our Bodie’s rally.
Other pro-abortion events in Los Angeles this past week included a call for a day of protests at churches on Sunday, a day for banner drops on freeway bridges on Wednesday, and on Thursday, there were student walkouts.
Roe v. Wade is the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, issued on January 22, 1973, that legalized abortion in the United States. The City of West Hollywood, in 1993, was the first city in the nation to declare itself pro-choice and the City has continually supported state and federal legislation protecting and advancing women’s reproductive rights and access to healthcare.
