Preparations Underway For Women's March For Reproductive Freedom In Philadelphia Before Supreme Court's New Term
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Preparations are underway for Saturday's Women's March for Reproductive Freedom that's taking place in cities across the country and here in Philadelphia.
Many doctors will be marching in scrubs, concerned that court decisions could put women at risk, and many teenagers will be joining their ranks.
Local high school students are making signs for Saturday's Women's March.
"Abortion justice matters a lot to me since I'm a teenager and this issue directly affects teenage girls and their future and education," Lillie Abella, a high school senior at Lower Merion, said.
Abella and Lexi Velez from Central Bucks are organizing students for the rally.
"I think reproductive rights are especially important to me and my generation," Velez said.
They're concerned the Supreme Court will allow more states to restrict reproductive freedoms after its recent decision that allows most abortions to be banned in Texas.
"By restricting abortion access, we put people at risk," Dr. Alhambra Frarey said.
Frarey is an OB-GYN in Philadelphia.
"I'm enraged not just as a doctor, not just as someone who could become pregnant myself, but also as the mother of two little girls," Frarey said.
A statement from the National Right to Life Committee says, "It is disgraceful that people would march for the right to kill innocent preborn children. The 'women's movement' has failed if women think they have to kill their children in order to be successful."
"Abortion is healthcare and at the end of the day, just like every other form of healthcare, it shouldn't be legislated," Frarey said. "It should be between a patient, that patient's family and the doctor."
The Women's March has more than 625 rallies planned around the country Saturday. In Philadelphia, it will start at the Art Museum at 12 p.m. and then proceed up the Parkway to City Hall.
"I'm hoping this spreads awareness across the country," Abella said.
The marches are scheduled for Saturday because the Supreme Court reconvenes its new term on Monday.
