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As anti-abortion activists across the country held protests Saturday to urge President Donald Trump and Congress to defund Planned Parenthood, rallies in support of the health care provider also sprung up across the U.S., including one in San Antonio on the West Side.
“Keep your tiny orange hands off my uterus,” read one of the signs at the San Antonio rally, held at Sabinas Coffee House. Many women donned the pink knitted hats known as “pussycat hats” that became popular during the historic Jan. 21 Women’s March on Washington. Some people held their signs along West Commerce, whooping with joy when passing cars honked their horns.
No counterprotesters were present at the rally, though a small anti-Planned Parenthood protest was planned for a clinic on the Northwest Side.
Thousands of Planned Parenthood supporters turned out for a rally in St. Paul, Minnesota, separated by barricades from an anti-abortion crowd of a couple hundred people. In Detroit, about 300 people turned up outside a Planned Parenthood office, most of them supporting the organization. In St. Louis, thousands marched, many carrying pink signs that read, “I stand with Planned Parenthood.”
“With the environment and everything going on, the culture of politics, we just felt like we were mad enough and we needed to do something,” said Amanda Reyna, a birth doula who organized the event with Elizabeth Huber, Adrie Jeffers and Vanessa Campos.
“We just met up on Facebook just by happenstance, so now we’re connected through this, and it’s been pretty awesome,” she continued.
Several women talked about their experiences with the 100-year-old nationwide provider, which provides a variety of health care services, though its opponents tend to focus only on abortion.
Jane Blaylock described being treated at Planned Parenthood as “just like going to a doctor’s office,” though less expensive.
“To defund them based on religious beliefs and birth control, when birth control can be used to treat medical conditions like endometriosis, doesn’t make any sense to me,” she said.
Barbie Hurtado, organizer of an upcoming march scheduled around International Women’s Day on March 8, told the crowd of at least 100 that Planned Parenthood is a “safe haven” for women in need of basic medical care, such as a pap smear.
“You don’t feel judged for being queer, for being brown, for being fat,” Hurtado said. “You just go and get your pap.”
Mara Posada, communications director for Planned Parenthood South Texas, said the provider operates five health centers in San Antonio and has “a ton of support” in the city.
“To see this event come to fruition truly from the ground up has been a phenomenal experience for us,” she said.
Women-led activism in San Antonio will continue with the Mujeres Marcharan march on March 4 through downtown.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
bgibbons@express-news.net
Twitter: @bgibbs
bgibbons@express-news.net
Twitter: @bgibbs
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