Texas Cities To Join In Abortion Rights Demonstrations

AUSTIN, TX — Amid a flurry of anti-abortion legislation across the country, more than 350 demonstrations are scheduled on Tuesday calling for abortion rights — including several throughout Texas.

"Stop Abortion Bans Day of Action" pr0-choice demonstrations are scheduled on Tuesday, May 21. More than 50 organizations — including Planned Parenthood, SisterSong and the Women's March — will stage 350 demonstrations across the country calling for an end to what they see as effectively full bans on abortion with passage of extreme bills against the procedure, according to the event website.

“Across the country, we are seeing a new wave of extreme bans on abortion, stripping away reproductive freedom and representing an all-out assault on abortion access,” reads the event website. “Politicians shouldn’t be making decisions best left to women, their families, and their doctors.”

The mass reaction from abortion rights advocates stems from recent passage of a number of extreme anti-abortion bills, including last week's signing of a bill by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey that reproductive rights advocates see as tantamount to a total ban. In Missouri, Gov. Mike Parson is poised to pass another law banning abortion after eight weeks — with no exceptions made for rape and incest or allowances made for survivors of human trafficking — according to reports.

Republican lawmakers are cashing in capital currency with Donald Trump in the White House following the appointment of conservative voices in the U.S. Supreme Court. Political pundits forecast the moves being made to limit (or outright ban) abortion by conservatives capitalizing on the current power structure in the executive and judicial branches of the federal government.

The flagship event is scheduled to kick off in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C. at noon EST, according to the event website. Another big rally is likely in New York City, where the demonstration there will launch at 5 p.m. EST at Foley Square. The hashtag for the mass demonstrations is #StopTheBans.

Several demonstrations are scheduled throughout Texas on May 21. Among them:

• Hosted by The Afiya Center, 9 a.m. at 1100 S. Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701.
• Hosted by NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, 11 a.m., 1100 S. Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701.
• Hosted by Texas Handmaids, Inc., 12 p.m., 1100 S. Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701.
• Hosted by Langford Law Office, 12 p.m., 300 E. 26th St., Bryan, TX 77803.
• Hosted by Pro-Choice Moms, 12 p.m., 100 E. Weatherford St., Fort Worth, TX 76196.
• Hosted by #StopTheBans Day of Action Allen Texas, 12 p.m., 305 Century Parkway, Allen, TX, 75013.
• Hosted by Northern Wilco Democrats, 12 p.m., 710 S. Main St., Georgetown, TX, 78626.
• Hosted by Pantsuit Republic Houston, 12 p.m., 900 Smith St., Houston TX, 77002.
• Hosted by Women's March El Paso, 12 p.m., 500 E. San Antonio Ave., El Paso, TX, 79901.
• Hosted by ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Women's March EP, 12 p.m. 500 E. San Antonio Ave., El Paso, TX 79902.
• Hosted by Pro Choice, 12 p.m. 100 E. Weatherford St., Fort Worth, TX, 76196.
• Hosted by Visible Indivisible, 12 p.m., 5300 Memorial Dr., Houston, TX, 77007.
• Hosted by Planned Parenthood, 6 p.m., 1534 E. 6th St., Brownsville, TX, 78520.
• Hosted by Afiya Center, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Texas Equal Access Fund, Texas Organizing Project, 6:30 p.m., 1500 Marilla St., Dallas, TX, 75201.
• Hosted by March for Our Rights, 12 p.m., 2012 Woodall Rogers Fwy., Dallas, TX, 75201.

To find locations of protests near you, click here.