Photo credit: Jo Freeman


Roughly 20,000 people rallied and marched in Washington, D.C. for abortion rights.  It was one of five hundred rallies of varying sizes around the country.  Covid has discouraged travel, so people protest at home, which makes numbers harder to add up.

Before the march, there was a rally on the NE corner of the Washington Monument grounds.


Most people stood or sat on Monument Hill. Two sections near the speakers’ stand were set aside for the disabled.

Volunteers checked in on Constitution Ave. before going to their designated jobs.


One task was passing out printed signs from tables around the rally.  They also passed out face masks and ponchos.

People also brought their own signs.

Demographically, those at the rally and march were more than 95 percent white, in a city where whites are less than half the population. The age range was wide, but the bulk was of reproductive age.

About ten percent were men.

The speakers were very diverse. Of the ten women on the speaker’s list, only one was white.

DC Councilmember Janice Lewis George
Cong. Barbara Lee (D. CA)]

Two pro-lifers stood across Constitution Ave. with signs.  They attracted a lot of attention.

The march began with a drum roll.

and proceeded east on Constitution Ave.

Not everyone who came to the rally marched to the Supreme Court.  Those that did were escorted by about two dozen DC police, on bikes.

It’s common at pro-choice events for women to dress as Handmaids.  I only saw two at this march.

Few wore any kind of costume.

As they turned onto First St. NE marchers were greeted by some pro-choicers who had come before.

Plus a gaggle of pro-lifers.

Cops watched as marchers passed the Supreme Court.

After passing the Court with its double barricades many marchers left their signs as souvenirs while DEATH pointed the way.


Jo Freeman is a feminist scholar and author.
Copyright ©2022 Jo Freeman.