Women across the country participated in marches and rallies on Saturday to protest recent attempts to roll back women’s rights. State legislators have passed or tried to pass laws to limit women’s reproductive rights throughout this year. Proposed legislation included personhood bills, fetal heartbeat laws, and ultrasound laws.
The rallies were held in over 30 states and the District of Columbia. Speakers at the events included entertainers like Sara Silverman (California), women’s rights leaders such as NOW President Terry O’Neill (Maryland), and politicians including Senator Debbie Stabenow (Michigan) and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (New York).
Hundreds of women gathered in Richmond, the capital of Virginia, a state that has received national attention this year for its restrictive bills, including a proposed transvaginal probe law that was eventually dropped. President of the Richmond Chapter of NOW, Victoria Bragunier, told the Washington Post, “Women are powerful – despite the way we are treated and what we are told.”
ThinkProgress reports that 944 bills having to do with reproductive rights have been introduced in 45 states this year, according to Guttmacher Institute estimates.
ThinkProgress 4/30/12; Washington Post 4/28/12; Unite Women Press Release 4/27/12
