About a thousand people demonstrated in front of the White House demanding that US President Joe Biden more strongly defend the right to abortion.
The demonstrators, the vast majority of whom are women, chanted “My body, my choice” and marched through the streets of Washington towards the White House in torrential rain that quickly turned into torrential rain.
But Biden was not at the presidential residence, and he spent the weekend at his home in Delaware, hundreds of miles from the capital.
However, his absence did not prevent 37-year-old Beke, who asked not to be named, to come to the White House perimeter with a sign “Abortion is performed on demand and without justification.”
She said she is asking the president to “fix it,” adding that she refuses to go back to what was applied “grandmother’s days.”
And she felt that “the executive order he issued is not enough,” citing a text Biden signed on Friday that includes limited measures related to selective abortion of pregnancies.
Behind her, demonstrators hung 1,600 green ribbons on the Pennsylvania Avenue fence to commemorate Argentine women’s struggle for abortion rights.
“He really needs to use all of his executive power to ensure that women keep their rights,” said Kristin, 50.
“I’m here so my daughters don’t go back 50 years to the days of clandestine abortions,” said Kristen, a mother of three.
Shortly after the demonstrators left the site, they were replaced by tourists who rushed to take pictures of banners hanging up as the rain began to wash away.
Since the Conservative-dominated Supreme Court struck down the nationwide right to abortion on June 24, Biden has been accused of not upholding the decision with the necessary firmness.
Source: AFP