By Hannah Saunders with reporting from CHS
Thousands filled Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park Saturday to call for the protection of Roe v. Wade. Thousands marched through the neighborhood calling for the protection of women’s rights and to respond to the leaked Supreme Court decision by speaking out against the erosion of civil rights in the country.
Beth Riven said she was there because she cares about the health and wellbeing of women and girls in the United States.
“Hopefully this is a rallying call for not only Seattle, but others around the country and in fact, around the world, that fascist moves by a Supreme Court will harm everyone, including men and families—not only women and girls,” Riven said.
Congresswoman Suzan DelBene was the first speaker to take the microphone during Saturday’s rally.
“This is a combination of Republicans’ decades long effort to take away women’s freedoms, and it breaks my heart that my daughter — so many young women out here — could have less rights than I did at your age, and it won’t stop here,” DelBene said.
“This is an issue that affects all of us,” said DelBene. “Even if you’re not a woman or you don’t think this issue impacts you, I hope you’ll remember something that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, which is ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’.”
Organized by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund as part of #BansOffOurBodies protests in more than 400 cities this weekend, Saturday’s rally was the latest centerpoint of Seattle protests, gatherings, and actions from many groups across the region including groups like Refuse Fascism Seattle that gathered later Saturday afternoon at Seattle Central before marching on Broadway with rally attendees and groups joining for a full day of protest and speaking out. Friday, the Beauty in Our Community group held a youth-focused action in the park to kick off the weekend of protest. Continue reading