With signs declaring “Abortion Is Health Care” and chants about fighting back, activists in dozens of cities nationwide rallied in support of abortion rights on Sunday, the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that was overturned by the Supreme Court, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion.
The events, which were expected to draw thousands of people from Honolulu to Hartford, make up the latest iteration of the Women’s March, the protest series that began in 2017 in the wake of the election of President Donald J. Trump.
They closely followed the March for Life in Washington, the annual anti-abortion demonstration that was transformed on Friday into a victory rally celebrating the rollback of Roe.
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at an event hosted by Planned Parenthood in Tallahassee, Fla. In her speech, Ms. Harris denounced “extremist” Republicans and “so-called leaders” in Florida for restrictions on abortion and for rules that force health care providers “to risk going to jail just for doing their job.”
She said that President Biden had signed a memorandum directing agencies across the government to assess how the federal government could remove legal barriers to providers prescribing abortion medication.
“Let us not be tired or discouraged,” Ms. Harris said. “Because we are on the right side of history.”