While hundreds of rallies take place across the U.S. on Saturday to protest the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned, a number of Kelowna residents held their own rally in solidarity.
A group of men and women at City Park made their way to the courthouse steps to share their stories and thoughts surrounding abortion rights.
“Women and people who have uteruses, they’re going to be impacted by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. It will mean that people will likely be harmed and potentially die from lack of access,” said co-organizer Joelle Wolf.
One of the biggest fears many of the supporters had is how U.S. politics could affect women’s reproductive healthcare here in Canada.
“You see the Conservative standpoint (in the U.S.) right now and the party leaders and what they’ve aimed for. If that goes through in the States and we, unfortunately, vote in a Conservative Party in the next three years. We will see that here, we follow suit,” said co-organizer, Candace Banks.
When the Roe v. Wade news broke earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it clear that his government will never back down from defending women’s rights in Canada, saying that every woman has a right to a safe and legal abortion.
Earlier this week the B.C. Liberal government pledged $3.5M to programs that would improve access to abortion services in the country.