Thousands of women rallied in Washington, D.C. to support Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and reproductive rights.
The vice president has made abortion rights a central plank in his White House bid against Republican Donald Trump, who appears to have publicly supported a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that stripped the constitutional right to abortion.
“It’s most important to me to vote for a candidate who will support our rights as women,” said Leah Brooker, 19, who traveled from North Carolina to attend the event Saturday, three days before Election Day.
The student said she had already voted in early voting and said, “It was very encouraging to know that my first vote went to a woman.”
She held a sign that read, “If boys were boys, a woman would be president.”
Other signs included slogans such as “Voting prevents an unwanted presidency” and “A woman’s place is in the Oval Office.”
Organizers estimated the number of participants was about 15,000. Other cities in the U.S. also organized sister marches.
With the dome of the U.S. Capitol as a backdrop, speakers at Freedom Plaza voiced support for the 60-year-old Harris.
“We’re not going back!” The crowd chanted, repeating one of Harris’ campaign slogans.
Marlene Wagner, 70, a retiree from Nebraska, said she was joining because “I’m scared for the future of my grandchildren and my children.”
In her Midwestern state, abortion is prohibited after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The restrictions come after Trump-appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices notified a panel in 2022 to end the state’s right to abortion granted 50 years ago in Roe v Wade.
Access to abortion is on the ballot in 10 states in referendums held in conjunction with the presidential vote.
In Nebraska, a proposal was made to add abortion restrictions to the state constitution and to extend the period during which abortions are permitted.
For Wagner, who also participated in the first women’s march in 2017 after Trump’s election, the choice was stark.
Abortion restrictions “have already had an impact as women are unable to get the care they need.”
