'Motherhood should be a choice': Nashville demonstrators rally on Mother's Day for abortion access

A mother who nearly died during childbirth, a woman who was sexually assaulted as a college student, high school students worried they might have less autonomy over their bodies than their mothers.

Hundreds turned out in Nashville this weekend to protest the news the U.S. Supreme Court is on the verge of overturning the landmark 1973 case of Roe v. Wade that established a constitutional right to abortion. A draft of a court opinion leaked last week.

Under cloudy skies, they marched to the state Capitol and criticized Tennessee’s “trigger law,” which would institute an abortion ban if Roe is overturned.

Demonstrators spoke out specifically against Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the opinion, and encouraged people to vote in upcoming national and local elections.

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They shared their experiences as social workers, counselors and volunteers who have worked with domestic violence victims or as escorts who help protect patients who walk into clinics that perform abortions.

On Sunday in Walk of Fame Park, while many gathered nearby for Mother’s Day brunch or strolled Nashville’s tourism district, they chanted “motherhood should be a choice.”

Elizabeth Wanczak, a former alderperson candidate in Franklin, held a sign that read “All I want for Mother's Day is government out of my womb!"

She attended Sunday’s rally with her husband and their two young children.

As her 6-year-old daughter twirled in a purple unicorn-printed dress, Wanczak said she was there for her.

"This is very personal. I nearly died after I gave birth to her. I hope that she is never in a position where she needs an abortion, but that decision should be between a woman and her doctor," Wanczak said.

Lilah Williams, 16, held a red and white bullhorn used to lead chants.

Two men walking on the other side of the street shouted at the crowd.

“Murderers!” they yelled.

The protestors, mostly women, held their signs higher, shouting the men down and garnering honks from cars passing by.

"Pro-life, that's a lie. You don't care if people die," the crowd yelled.

Williams shows up to a lot of social justice events. This moment is particularly scary, though.

"I've never known where my rights to this sorts of stuff weren't protected," Williams said. "I just think human rights are really important. ... A lot of people who have abortions are underprivileged. They are people of color, they're immigrants, they're poor; and this will affect them a lot more than it will affect me."

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Shannon Lynch is grateful for the advocacy of young people like Williams.

She’s been doing this work for nearly 50 years and never thought the country could potentially be back here.

"I've been doing this work since I was 16. I knew people whose grandmothers died after having back-alley abortions, whose mothers died having unsafe abortions. Young people today are seeing these rights that we fought for being taken away," Lynch said. "It won't stop with abortion, so we need them to fight."

For now, activists say they have a lot of work to do.

Another rally in Nashville is scheduled for May 14 when a coalition of progressive and abortion rights groups, including Planned Parenthood, plans to hold a day of action for abortion rights nationwide.

Abortion clinics are strengthening security measures, beefing up sexual education efforts and expanding access to contraceptives and family planning services.

Some activists are encouraging women and allies to collect abortion medications before a new state law that would criminalize the distribution of such medication through telehealth or mail goes into effect.

Meghan Mangrum covers education for the USA TODAY Network — Tennessee. Contact her at mmangrum@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville abortion protest: Mother's Day rally after Roe vs Wade leak