Our Favorite Signs From the Women’s March for Reproductive Rights

10/4/2021 by
Our Favorite Signs from the Women's March for Reproductive Rights

On Saturday, Oct. 2, tens of thousands of protesters across the U.S. gathered, rallied and marched to express their support for Roe v. Wade and their opposition to a recent onslaught of abortion restrictions.

While 2021 is the year with the most abortion restrictions enacted since Roe was decided in 1973, public outrage reached a peak on Sept. 1 when an unprecedented Texas law went into effect. Senate Bill 8, the law in question, bans abortion at just six weeks gestation and rewards $10,000 to private citizens who successfully sue anyone who helps someone get an abortion after this time period. Those who support abortion rights were also outraged by the Supreme Court’s lack of action to stop the law in question, which flies in the face of Supreme Court precedent established in Roe v. Wade. The Women’s March originally announced its return to Washington and across the nation to rally in support of reproductive rights the day after Texas’s new abortion law went into effect.

From Texas to New Jersey to California to D.C., here are some of our favorite signs, marches and protesters who showed up in 650 locations in all 50 states. They paint the picture of a multi-generational, diverse coalition dissatisfied with current anti-abortion lawmakers; anxious to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law; and fired up for next year’s midterm elections.

Texas

  • Austin, Texas; Saturday, Oct. 2. (Roxy Szal)
  • Austin. (Roxy Szal)
  • Austin. (Roxy Szal)
  • Austin. (Roxy Szal)
  • Austin. (Roxy Szal)
  • Austin. (Claire Fritz)
  • Women’s March ATX. (Twitter)
  • San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 2. (Twitter user @briannajiselle)
  • San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 2. (Twitter user @briannajiselle)
  • San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 2. (Twitter user @briannajiselle)

Washington, D.C.

signs-womens-march-texas-abortion-ban-roe-v-wade-reproductive-rights
The Women’s March in D.C. on Oct. 2. (Courtesy of the Women’s March / Kisha Bari)
  • A protester in D.C. (Courtesy of Twitter user SarahLaGringa @SarahLaGringa)
  • A sign submitted from a Ms. reader in D.C. reads, “Same shit, different year. Be better America!” (Courtesy of Twitter user @DC4Hope)
  • D.C. on Oct. 2. (Erin Buthman)

Minnesota

A Minneapolis protester on Oct. 2. (Twitter)

Illinois

California

  • The Oct. 2 Women’s March in San Francisco. (Submitted to Ms. by Twitter user Alyssa Kang, @1alyssakang)
  • The Oct. 2 Women’s March in San Francisco. (Submitted to Ms. by Twitter user Alyssa Kang, @1alyssakang)
signs-womens-march-texas-abortion-ban-roe-v-wade-reproductive-rights
Protesters at a march in Fountain Valley, Calif. (Twitter)

Indiana

Maine

  • Organized by high school students in Blue Hill, Maine. (Kathy Bonk)
  • High school students in Blue Hill on Oct. 2. (Kathy Bonk)
  • Multi-generational marchers in Blue Hill. Note: The woman in the middle was at a 2004 march with the same sign. (Kathy Bonk)
  • A Blue Hill protester carries a sign from a 2004 pro-abortion march. (Kathy Bonk)
  • Blue Hill, Maine, on Oct. 2. (Kathy Bonk)
  • Blue Hill, Maine, on Oct. 2. (Kathy Bonk)

Massachusetts

  • A protester in Northampton, Mass. (Carrie Baker)
  • Northampton, Mass. (Carrie Baker)
Protesters in Acton, Mass. (Twitter)

Alaska

signs-womens-march-texas-abortion-ban-roe-v-wade-reproductive-rights
An Oct. 2 rally in Anchorage, Alaska. (Courtesy of Twitter user Nova Martinez, @Nova_sapatao)

New Jersey

A rally in Hoboken, N.J., submitted by a Ms. reader. (Courtesy of Twitter user ConnieMilligan, @LeenerLeft)

Tennessee

Asheville, Tenn., on Oct. 2. (Twitter)

South Carolina

North Carolina

Downtown Durham, N.C. (Jenny Warburg)

West Virginia

A rally in Morgantown, W.V., submitted by a Ms. reader. (Courtesy of Twitter user Amanda J Ray, @AmandaRayLaw)

Florida

Delray Beach, Fla., on Oct. 2. (Twitter)
A protester in Orlando, Fla. (Twitter)
An Oct. 2 march in St. Augustine, Fla., submitted by a Ms. reader. (Courtesy of Twitter user Kim Elmore, PhD, @SparklesByThSea)

New York

Oregon

Ob-gyn Dr. Jennifer Lincoln attends the Women’s March in Portland, Ore. (Instagram)

Up next:

Pressure Mounts for Companies to Stand Against Texas’s Near-Total Abortion Ban: “Time to Get on Board,” Says Cecile Richards
Coercing Rape Survivors to Be Pregnant for the State—The Texas Way
Danger in the Shadows: Supreme Court Uses Shadow Docket to Threaten Abortion Rights
Tagged: , , , , ,

About

Roxanne Szal (or Roxy) is the managing digital editor at Ms. and a producer on the Ms. podcast On the Issues With Michele Goodwin. She is also a mentor editor for The OpEd Project. Before becoming a journalist, she was a Texas public school English teacher. She is based in Austin, Texas. Find her on Twitter @roxyszal.

You May Also Like:

‘Tragedy Upon Tragedy’: What the Justices’ Questions on EMTALA Revealed

Will the Supreme Court Dump Women’s Lives and Futures *Again*?