Washington, D.C. - United States Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and an estimated 1,150,000 people descended on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. today to communicate a simple truth: reproductive rights are human rights, and we all must be free to exercise them.
“This is a critical time for such a gathering,” said Van Hollen. “At every level of government — federal, state, and local — the ability of women to obtain safe and legal abortion services in accordance with the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision is under attack.”
“We are fortunate in Montgomery County that women have had access to a range of reproductive services, and to the family planning services needed to prevent abortion in the first place,” said Van Hollen. “We have excellent physicians, hospitals, and clinics throughout the region. Organizations like Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington (PPMW) have clinics in Silver Spring and Gaithersburg that are open to everyone in need, including our growing immigrant populations and our low-income families.”
The March for Women’s Lives was led by seven organizing groups: American Civil Liberties Union, Black Women’s Health Imperative, Feminist Majority, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, National Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
The march was attended by delegations and individuals from all over the world, representing nearly 60 countries, who came to Washington from as far as Denmark and Kenya for the march.