Women's March returns to DC, other major cities demanding 'abortion access for all'
Thousands of participants are expected to show up to the rally Saturday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The annual Women's March on Saturday returns to Washington, D.C., and other major cities across the country with a focus on "abortion access for all."
It will be the first Women's March since President Biden took office, and speakers are expected to discuss new laws restricting abortion access in states like Texas and Mississippi, which have banned abortions after about six weeks and 15 weeks of pregnancy, respectively, and which are facing appeals from abortion providers.
"Today, we're fighting for abortion access for all. Join us," The Women's March organization tweeted Saturday. "The #RallyForAbortionJustice is happening at 650 locations in all 50 states — in-person and virtually."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The rally in the nation's capital on Saturday will begin with a "faith gathering," "reflecting the many voices of people of faith longing for reproductive justice," and the march will begin at Freedom Plaza at noon and continue until demonstrators reach the Supreme Court.
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The first Women's March was held on Jan. 21, 2017 — the day after former President Trump was sworn into office — when hundreds of thousands of women gathered to protest the then-president.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Demonstrators march on Pennsylvania Av. during the Women's March in Washington on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Pro-life organizations criticized the theme of this year's Women's March.
Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, an annual rally in which demonstrators demand more restrictive abortion laws, said the theme for this year's rally "comes as no surprise."
"What about equal rights for unborn women?" she tweeted. Authentic women’s rights must never trample on another’s basic right to life — including that half of humanity which are female lives!"
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She added that "in placing abortion above all else, these abortion activists quickly lose women like me – and the millions of baby girls whose lives have been lost to abortion since 1973," referencing the Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in favor of abortion rights in Roe v. Wade.
Demonstrators on Saturday seek to "uphold Roe by ruling SB 8," the Texas abortion law, "and its copycats unconstitutional," according to a tweet from the organization.
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The Susan B. Anthony List, another pro-life group, also took aim at the march in a Friday tweet.
"The Women's March org is holding a rally for ‘abortion justice’ tomorrow. It would be better named a rally for abortion extremism. The policies they support are far outside the mainstream of what most Americans think about this issue," the organization wrote. "In fact, the Women's March has a history of excluding women who speak out against the human rights abuse of abortion."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Women's March in 2017 dropped a left-leaning, pro-life organization called the New Wave Feminists from its list of partner organizations because it opposes abortion.
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The Susan B. Anthony List continued: "Every woman deserves to be heard on this issue. But the Women's March tries to erase the stories of moms who chose life in difficult circumstances. Some are asking why the pro-abortion Women’s March is shrinking as the power, optimism, and youth of the March for Life grows? The answer is clear: The side of life is the side of science and compassion."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Thousands of participants are expected to show up to the rally in D.C. and elsewhere Saturday with required mask-wearing amid COVID-19.