LAKEPORT — The "Rally for Abortion Justice" took place this afternoon instead of on Saturday when the nationwide mobilization takes place due to a conflict with another event to be held on Main Street tomorrow.

Roughly 50 people showed up to the rally, including approximately 10 men, to support the nationwide march for women's right to reproductive freedom.

Gillian Parrillo, the Solidarity Sundays of Lake County organizer of the rally, denounced the Texas law that bans abortions and handed out postcards to the protesters to mail to their district politicians which read: "Women's Health Protection Act. I live in your District and I vote. Make this bill a priority. VOTE YES. Equal access to abortion care—everywhere— is essential for social and economic equality, reproductive autonomy and the right to determine our own lives. When passed, the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA) of 2021 will protect the right to access abortion across the United States."

According to their Facebook site, Solidarity Sundays is a nationwide network of more than 200 progressive, feminist, anti-racist activist groups committed to resisting and working for peace, justice and equity.

Lake county's Poet Laureate, Georgina Maria joined the rally. She said, "I'm here to stand up for women's right to choose." She wore a face mask that said, "Woman. Warrior. Writer."

Vehicles driving by honked and yelled in unity to the protesters, who yelled back. They cheered, played Aretha Frankin's song "Respect" and held their protest signs high.

One woman, Jo Ann Morgan, 82, brought a protest sign from the 1970s, a Planned Parenthood sign, which she had kept all these years. White-haired and dressed with a Ruth Bader Ginsberg type lace collar, she told of how in her 30s she had an abortion due to an unexpected pregnancy. "I was absolutely relieved that it was safe and legal at the time. People now forget how desperate women are with an unwanted pregnancy and how they will do what they have to do. People then, before abortions were legal, had horrendous experiences." She shook her head. "It's been roughly 50 years ago that I had mine. You don't forget. Men can never really understand."