Two women’s marches to be held this weekend

In recognition of the National Women’s March, two marches will be held this weekend in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

The “Women+’s March Spokane” and “Kootenai County Women’s March 2021” marches will be held Saturday, Oct. 2, in support of women’s rights.

The theme of the national march this year is reproductive rights in a “Rally for Abortion Justice.” In September, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal from abortion providers that wanted to block a Texas law on abortions.

The law bans abortions in Texas when cardiac activity is detected. This happens at around six weeks into a pregnancy, before some women know they are pregnant.

Here are the two marches that are happening:

Women+’s March Spokane

On the event’s Facebook page, the march is a way for women, trans/non-binary folks and supporters to claim their bodily autonomy back.

The rally will begin as a car rally at 1 p.m. Participants will gather at 12:30 p.m. at 6220 N. Division St. and 4515 S. Regal St.

Another rally will be held at the Spokane Tribal Gathering Place, next to City Hall, at 2 p.m. It will center around stories of Spokane community members affected by reproductive rights issues.

The event page said participants can bring signs and should be prepared to share stories of how reproductive rights are important to them.

Organizers of the march include MAC Movement, Women’s March, Planned Parenthood, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA, MMIP Spokane, the Human Rights Activist Coterie and Indivisible Spokane.

Participants will be required to wear masks and social distance.

You can learn more about the Spokane march on their website and Facebook event page.

Kootenai County Women’s March 2021

Laura Tenneson, the lead organizer of the march, said the theme for the march is to stand up for women’s reproductive rights and protest the law in Texas that bans most abortions. She added the march will also be about schools and upcoming local elections.

“We have a serious extremism problem in our community and we intend to address this topic at the march and talk about what we can do to change it,” Tenneson said.

The march will include two guest speakers:

• A local child psychologist will speak about the mental health ramifications of making abortions inaccessible to women, especially survivors of sexual and domestic violence.
• A local business owner who will speak about women’s responsibility to stand up and set an example for young women in the community.

The event starts at 11 a.m. at the Amphitheater in Riverstone Park, next to the fountain. It will begin with the two speakers, and the march will commence at noon. Tenneson said one person will share her personal story surrounding sexual assault.

There were originally three speakers for the march, but Tenneson said one will not be able to attend.

Tenneson said they are doing everything they can to host a safe event, including informing law enforcement, requiring and providing masks, encouraging social distancing and providing disinfectants.

“We had a fun and safe event last year, and I’m planning for the same on Saturday,” Tenneson said. “This is an opportunity for like-minded left-leaning people to find solidarity and community in an extremely red area.”

People are welcome to bring chairs for the speeches and signs for the march.

The Coeur d’Alene march’s Facebook page can be found here.

RELATED: Biden administration urges judge to block Texas abortion law 

READ: Supreme Court allows Texas abortion law. It’s the most restrictive in the nation 

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