Hundreds gathered in front of the clock tower in Victoria Park last night in support of abortion rights.
This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade case that previously established a constitutional right to abortion across that country.
Participants held signs, chanted and heard presentations from community members, local politicians and from members of local organizations.
The event was put together by the Shore Centre KW, which provides a variety of medical and counselling services including medical abortions.
T.K. Pritchard is the executive director with the Shore Centre, and said the rally was about showing support for those effected in the U.S. - and exposing shortcomings here in Canada.
"We're coming together both to show solidarity with our peers in the U.S. and also to highlight the myriad of issues that exist within Ontario and Canada in accessing abortion," said Pritchard.
Pritchard added while the overturning of Roe v. Wade occurred in the U.S., it's important to remember that our humanity extends across borders; and that when a significant landmark decision is taken down, it has an impact on abortion rights in Canada as well.
One of the speakers that kicked off the event was NDP MPP for Kitchener Centre, Laura Mae Lindo, who continually stated "abortion is health care."
"We fight to ensure that places like Shore have stable funding, increased funding and access to everything that they need to ensure that we can access them because, abortion is health care," said Lindo.
Presenters also included Amy Smoke with Land Back Camp KW.
"I feel like folks don't think it can happen too here, for Indigenous people bodily autonomy has been an issue since colonization and safe access to health care and abortions, saves lives," said Smoke.
Executive Director of ACCKWA - the AIDS Committee of Cambridge Kitchener and Waterloo - Ruth Cameron, also spoke during the event and highlighted, in parallel with other speakers, the significance of this supreme court decision despite it coming from the U.S.
"What is important now is that we understand that the fascism that's growing in the United States is being mirrored in many different societies around the world and that it's not just happening external to where we are," said Cameron.
Maddie Resmer, another speaker at the event, also spoke with CityNews 570 to the impact the overturning of Row v. Wade is having on youth.
"It's important that fellow youth feel that there is somebody that is speaking their truth and being open about the frustration, the anxiety, the sadness and the fear that their experiencing right now," said Resmer.
Following presentations participants wrote letters to those affected by the overturning and wrote messages on the base of the clock tower.
