Around 200 protestors, young and old, held pickets and chanted “Our body, our choice” at the corner of Castro St. and El Camino Real in support of abortion rights on Saturday.
The rally — along with hundreds of others throughout the country — came as the Supreme Court appears to be poised to scrap Roe v. Wade, and as the Senate failed to codify the right to abortion earlier this week.
“The more momentum we get going, I think the more we’ll bring in,” Foothill College sophomore Madi Gubser said. “I’ve been to protests before, but with all the protestors and cars driving by and honking [to show their approval], there’s never been this big of a turnout.”
For many elderly participants, this wasn’t a first: Resident Judy Marlin recalled previously fighting for the right to abortion leading up to the Roe v. Wade ruling nearly 50 years ago.
“I’m stunned that I have to do this again,” Marlin said. “It’s shocking; I really thought it was taken care of when we did all that fighting and protesting before.”
Other protestors feared the precedent overturning Roe v. Wade would set. Foothill College sophomore Jaren Hohmann said he anticipated that the government would continue to get restrictive on the bodies of everyone — not only women.
“This doesn’t just affect women, it affects everyone,” Hohmann said. “If we don’t stand up now, they could take away everyone’s rights.”
