EDIT: The story has been corrected with the accurate starting point of Saturday's rally.
Abortion rights activists gathered in downtown Harrisonburg on Monday to protest the overturning of Roe v. Wade. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
About 40 people walked through the drizzling rain to Harrisonburg's Court Square. Organizer Paloma Saucedo led the group in chants in English and Spanish.
PEOPLE CHANTING: El pueblo, unido, jamás será vencido!
Savo Adams, a sexual health educator with the Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services, spoke about the two abortions she's had.
SAVO ADAMS: I will happily answer your questions about abortions. I have no regrets. I'm proud of my decision.
Another speaker, Michaela Blosser, announced that she is currently pregnant – which she did through in vitro fertilization, or IVF, because she has cystic fibrosis and her husband is a carrier. Their baby, though, is healthy.
MICHAELA BLOSSER: I chose to protect my baby to not go through what I go through!
Laws banning abortions have the potential to affect IVF – since the process involves fertilizing multiple eggs, implanting one or a few into the mother's uterus, and discarding the rest.
Annette Fritz brought up other rights the Supreme Court has granted under privacy protections, that she and others say could now be in danger.
ANNETTE FRITZ: If they go after these rights, they will not stop. They will go after the right to marry someone you love. Not just same-sex, but someone of a different race.
There will be another rally for abortion rights on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Liberty Park.
