by Ella Nigro and Ruihan Yang
Anti-abortion protestors gathered outside Planned Parenthood at 1055 Commonwealth Avenue and walked to the Massachusetts State House at a “Men’s March for Life” rally on Saturday, a national organization that calls on men to abolish abortion, rally for personhood and be “men of god,” according to the Men’s March mission statement.
“We highly encourage fathers to march with sons, and all people of goodwill to come participate in the Rally,” the Men’s March website wrote in their promotional flier. Men were the only ones allowed to march, according to the website, but women and children were able to join the rally at the State House.
Last weekend’s Men’s March occurred a week after the Women’s March, a protest for women’s rights in Boston on Oct. 8.
Anti-abortion protestor Mark Ryan said he protested to “change the hearts,” of those individuals who choose abortion.
“We don’t hate anybody. We don’t hate the people that hate us. We love them all,” Ryan said. “We just hoped they would understand.”
Pro-abortion activists marched alongside the anti-abortion activists, dressed in bright colors and clown costumes to distinguish themselves from the required suits and cleric attire of the Men’s March.
The pro-abortion counterprotest was formed on Reddit and Instagram a week prior to the demonstrations on Saturday.
The march lasted four hours on the streets of Boston, ending at the State House with a number of anti-abortion speakers calling the group to action.
“It’s all daily mass murder for profit, and it has to end now,” said one anti-abortion protestor to the crowd.
Louisa Huston, a student at Suffolk University, stood among pro-abortion protestors. Huston said she was in attendance to defend her rights and other women’s rights because “no one else is going to.”
“Half of these people are men and they have no idea what it’s like to have to take care of children, give birth to children or even be pregnant,” Huston said.
Jolie Gagnon, a student in Wheaton College in Norton, said she showed up at the march to protest against the anti-abortion movement for a personal reason.
“I’m disabled, so if I get pregnant and can’t have an abortion, I die,” Gagnon said.
Gagnon also pointed out what she saw as flaws in the reasoning behind the anti-abortion movement.
“I don’t understand why it’s okay for them to say that my life matters less than a fetus and why their religion matters more than my autonomy,” Gagnon said.
Protestor Cecile Wisdom stood with the Men’s March.
“We’re all citizens of heaven and [abortion is] throwing away a citizen of heaven,” Wisdom said. “Someday, it will be unthinkable that the answer to an unwanted pregnancy is abortion.”
As the rally continued, tensions rose between the two activist groups, with several members from both sides having to be escorted away or separated by police forces.
Although many verbal fights broke out between the two sides, the Boston Police Department confirmed that no arrests were made during the event.
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