Women’s March protesters flooded the streets across Southern California on Saturday to march for women’s reproductive rights.
In downtown Los Angeles, demonstrators were preparing to march against the new Texas abortion law, which is one of the strictest in the nation. The downtown L.A. Women’s March was just one of more than 600 marches nationwide being organized this weekend.
The inaugural Women’s March in 2017 saw hundreds of thousands of people converge in downtown L.A. to protest then-President Donald Trump’s election. Last fall, a march paid tribute to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and to protest now-Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
“I think we’ve grown incredibly fast in five years,” said Emilian Guereca, president of Women’s March Foundation. “What started as, really an anti-Trump movement, has turned into a really strong feminist movement for women, pro-choice. So we’re proud of the 500 sister marches that are stepping up into leadership to organize with us.”
Guereca said Saturday’s march is intended to show solidarity for women and to denounce attacks on reproductive freedoms, such as a Mississippi challenge to the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, Texas’ new abortion law, and the possibility of other states following the Lone Star State with similar laws.
Organizers in downtown L.A. are expecting around 20,000 people to attend the Women’s March.
At another rally in Beverly Hills, famed attorney Gloria Allred took a stand for abortion rights, as did Beverly Hills Mayor Robert Wunderlich.
“This march, as well as the marches around the country, are an instrumental part of ensuring that women do have their reproductive rights,” Wunderlich said.