Thousands of people took to the streets in Los Angeles on Saturday as part of a nationwide effort to protect abortion rights amid the controversy triggered by news that the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Saturday's protest drew a massive crowd gathering outside Los Angeles City Hall since morning. More than a dozen of politicians, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Senator Alex Padilla, took to the stage and delivered speeches.
"I was proud to join Angelenos at the Bans Off Our Bodies Rally to stand in support of women and reproductive access. Reproductive rights are fundamental human rights. This is the fight of our lives, and we need to unite & ensure we do all we can to protect our future," Garcetti tweeted.
"Wealthy women and well-connected women will have the resources to travel to another state to have an abortion, while women of color, poor women of color across this country, are going to suffer and are going to die as a consequence," Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez said at the rally.
"Women of color have limited access to resources and cannot afford to take one day out of work to go have a procedure in another state," she said.
The Women's March Foundation, which organized the event, said it received more than 50,000 signups for the "Bans Off Our Bodies" rally.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
