No Turning Back

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Advocates marched on Washington D.C. on April 5, 1992 with one message – that a Pennsylvania state law being considered by the United States Supreme Court was unconstitutional, and that abortion rights were a core part of women’s health services. The march drew several hundred thousand people to the capital, one of the largest protest marches at the time, with the goal of raising awareness of the threats to the service and the importance of keeping abortions safe and legal. Although Roe v. Wade was passed into law in 1973, three Republican presidential terms had weakened the abortion rights established by the ruling, and the march came at as tensions around the pro-choice/pro-life debate came to a boiling point. Less than a year after the march, Bill Clinton was sworn into office and, although it wouldn't end the debate or the political action taken on either side, overturned several pieces of key anti-abortion executive legislation.