Abortion Rights Groups Are Planning a Massive Protest on May 14

In light of the leaked Supreme Court opinion to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion, coalition of reproductive rights organizations on Thursday announced the groups will hold massive nationwide protests on May 14th. Bans Off Our Bodies Day of Action will be four “anchor” marches in New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles, according to organizers. “This is an all-hands on deck moment,” said Shaunna Thomas, executive director and co-founder, UltraViolet.

This planned protest will build on the spontaneous protests that sprung up in the hours and days following Samuel Alito’s Salem Witch Trial-adjacent opinion draft. “This is a time where we need to double down our organizing efforts to make sure that we are protecting our people,” Planned Parenthood Action Fund Executive Director Kelley Robinson told reporters. “We are going to be expressing our outrage. We are not stopping. We are not afraid. We have more resolve than we ever had before because we are not settled. We are not going to settle for Roe as it was. We’re fighting for it to get to the level of abortion access that we should have always had.”

Smaller marches around the country, like the Women’s March auxiliary actions, will take place in tandem. The whole shebang is organized by Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Women’s March, UltraViolet, and MoveOn.

“We are focused on mass mobilization and turnout,” Robinson told reporters —though organizers didn’t have answers to most logistical questions. Yet. When asked about the role independent abortion providers would play in these protests, Robinson said a call to action will be to donate to practical support funds and abortion funds. “There’s also very important work that will still be going on with providing care. So we are working on every front to make sure that those organizations are supported and providing care.”

Here’s the link for the full list of planned marches. Until then, keep your anger alive.