Hundreds rally in downtown LA to support abortion rights

Hundreds gathered downtown Tuesday in support of abortion rights. Organizers say there will be more demonstrations in the coming days.

LOS ANGELES - Hundreds of people participated in a protest in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday in support of abortion rights.

The protest follows the unprecedented leak of documents showing the Supreme Court is on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that has protected a woman's right to get an abortion in the U.S., by choice, for nearly 50 years.

Skyler Soloman, one of the lead organizers of the rally with 'Rise Up for Abortion Rights,' said there will be many protests in the coming days to send a message to the Supreme Court.

"This leak is not law yet, so we have a chance now to stop it from becoming law. This gave the people of this country an opportunity to rise up in mass numbers, to get out into the streets to compel the Supreme Court to do the right thing. If the Supreme Court has the audacity to overturn Roe v. Wade, it's going against the will of the majority of the American people. That is an assault on democracy and that is an affront to the American people," said Soloman.

Julie Wallace, a writer for leftvoice.org, attended the rally, and said it is important to protect women's rights, particularly Black women and women of color.

"It's important for us to be out here to fight for reproductive health, women, particularly women of color, working-class women who are going to be facing the brunt. If abortion is illegal, it's not going to stop people from having abortions. We've seen the billboards of coat hangers. That's what people use, women used to have an abortion and many of them died," said Wallace.

Wallace said the leaked documents make her "sad and fearful."

"It's a rollback of so many different rights. This is the perspective of these people, and it is not just abortion. That's not it. It's just the beginning. They're trying to roll back same-sex marriage, same-sex intercourse, interracial marriage, anything they possibly can to bring us back to the age where we had no rights," said Wallace.

The Rise Up for Abortion Rights organization is planning another protest for Thursday, May 5 at noon where they encourage people to participate in a walkout and protest outside of the U.S. Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles.