SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Saturday, a pro-choice rally was held in downtown San Diego in support of abortion rights.
It was part of demonstrations across the U.S., described as 'Bans Off Our Bodies' rallies organized by Planned Parenthood.
The National Day of Action is in response to abortion bans being enacted across the country and the leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision to completely overturn Roe v Wade.
"We're here to say that women should be able to choose whether to be a mother," Rachel Jensen said.
Jensen attended the protest with her husband and two sons.
"It's not enough even if our rights are protected here in California. We really need to stand for all women across the country," Jensen said.
Rachel Davey marched alongside hundreds of others because of her daughters.
"There's so many, so many atrocities about this that are so wrong not just to us women, but our children, our girls," Davey said.
Vernita Gutierrez, the VP of Internal Affairs for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, said she wasn't surprised by the Court's ruling.
"It didn't really come as a surprise, but that makes it no less devastating," she said.
Gutierrez said abortion bans will be incredibly detrimental to low-income families.
"Folks who are struggling to pay bills, put food on the table, child-care, LGBTQ folks, young folks, immigrants," Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said California expects an influx of women seeking services if the decision holds.
Currently, the organization is making sure its facilities are well-staffed, and legislation is in place to continue to provide abortion and reproductive care.
"We are not backing down, and we'll be here for good," Gutierrez said.
After the march, a small pro-life group showed up in an attempt to counter-protest the rally. However, they were quickly run off by a large crowd of abortion rights supporters.
