More than 400 protests against abortion bans are being held across the United States Tuesday, with abortion rights advocates protesting across Los Angeles.
A national day of protests began in West Hollywood Tuesday morning, with dozens gathering to denounce the growing number of states passing restrictive abortion laws.
"This is happening right now in our world, on our watch," West Hollywood Mayor Protem Lindsey P. Horvath said. "The question is, 'What are we going to do about it?'"
So far, lawmakers in eight Republican-led state legislatures have passed laws to limit a woman's right to an abortion. Alabama passed the strictest anti-abortion law in the country, which many abortion rights advocates are referring to as an outright ban.
The states passing these laws appear to be working together to present legal challenges that aim to reach the U.S. Supreme Court and possibly overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that made abortion legal in America.
"These same folks have been defunding social programs like housing, economics, health care, and education that weigh into decision making about whether a woman decides to end her pregnancy," Nourbese Flint of Black Women for Wellness said.
Tuesday's nationwide demonstrations, which include rallies at the federal building in Westwood and Pershing Square in downtown LA, are part of the "stop the ban" movement. Many women are speaking out about their own experiences with abortions, fighting to keep access to the service and reproductive freedom for future generations.
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"I thought about how simple it was for me to exercise my right but how difficult it is for other women to exercise that same right," Karen Eyers of Hollywood Now said.
The protesters vowed to vote out any lawmaker who doesn't protect a woman's right to chose.
"Stand up," Carmen Linero-Lopez of the Feminist Majority Foundation said to a cheering crowd. "It's time our government represents us."
West Hollywood's city council and the LA County Board of Supervisors have passed resolutions vowing to refuse to do any business with states that have passed restrictive abortion laws.
At 5 p.m., abortion rights advocates in Los Angeles plan to rally on the 110 Freeway overpass at Wilshire Boulevard to make their voices heard, joining more than two dozen similar rallies that have taken place all over Los Angeles Tuesday.
