Thousands of women gathered in Washington on Saturday, three days before Election Day, in a passionate show of support for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her advocacy for reproductive healthcare access.
The vice president has made abortion rights a central part of her White House campaign against Republican Donald Trump, and the issue was a major focus among demonstrators at the annual Women’s March.
“Voting for the candidate who will support our rights as women is the most important thing to me,” said Leah Brooker, 19, who travelled from North Carolina to join the event.
The student told AFP she had already cast her ballot in early voting, describing it as “very empowering that my first vote was for a woman.”
She held a sign reading: “If boys will be boys, then women will be presidents.”
Other signs displayed slogans such as “Voting prevents unwanted presidencies” and “A woman’s place is in the Oval Office.”
Organisers estimated a turnout of about 15,000 people. Other US cities held sister marches.
With the dome of the US Capitol as the backdrop, speakers at Freedom Plaza rallied support for 60-year-old Harris.
“We’re not going back!” the crowd chanted, repeating one of Harris’s campaign slogans.
Retiree Marlene Wagner, 70, came from Nebraska, saying she joined the march “for my grandkids and my children because I fear for their future.”
In her Midwestern state, abortion is banned after the 12th week of pregnancy.
The restriction followed the 2022 US Supreme Court decision, influenced by justices appointed by Trump, which ended the national right to abortion.
Abortion access is on the ballot in 10 states, in referendums held alongside the presidential election.
In Nebraska, one proposal seeks to add abortion restrictions to the state constitution, while another aims to extend the period in which the procedure is permitted.
For Wagner, who also participated in the first Women’s March in 2017 after Trump’s election, the choice is stark.
The abortion restrictions have “already had repercussions because women haven’t been able to get the care they need.”
A few counter-protesters accused Harris of being a “baby killer,” though their voices were largely drowned out.
Trump is “very dangerous” and “dismisses women,” said Abby Cohen, 66, of New York, standing near a Planned Parenthood booth.
“I hope that all women vote for Harris,” she said, adding, “But I also hope that all men vote for Harris.”
AFP.
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