The halls at the state Capitol rang with cheers, chants and calls to action Saturday, after a crowd gathered for the state's ninth annual Rally for Reproductive Justice.
In past years, participants rallied with signs on the Capitol steps, but this year's attendees congregated inside the building to listen to a panel of speakers while snow flurries swirled outside.
The rally, and others like it across the country, marked the 46th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. On Jan. 22, 1973, the court affirmed the constitutional right to abortion.
The Arkansas Coalition for Reproductive Justice, which organized the Little Rock event, defines "reproductive justice" as the right to choose whether and when to have children, and the right to parent those children in safe, healthy environments.
The speakers focused broadly on activism, covering a range of national and local topics, including immigration, police violence against members of minority groups, gay and transgender discrimination and problems in the city's public schools.
"Democracy is not this static thing ... it's participatory," said Camille Richoux with the coalition. She urged people to continue fighting for human rights and not to take their own rights for granted.
From the podium, Richoux read aloud a statement from Sylvia Perkins, whose 15-year-old son Bobby Moore was fatally shot by a Little Rock police officer in 2012. The officer was ultimately fired and found liable for the teen's death.
"It is your action ... that enriches our society and ensures a better world for our children," Perkins wrote, thanking activists and organizers.
Pamela Merritt, a founder and co-director of the abortion-access organization Reproaction, urged attendees to become leaders and organizers.
"When politicians organize with excitement and enthusiasm and energy to take health care away from millions of Americans, you are the organizer you've been hoping would come to your hometown," she said. "This is not about finding the right candidate ... it's not about finding the perfect solution. This is about truly believing in the power of our ideas. We rise up and we fight back. We organize and we rally and we lobby and we take action, and we will win."
The rally coincides with the 92nd General Assembly's regular legislative session, which started Monday. Abortion opponents who describe themselves as pro-life and legislators have said they want to pass laws that restrict access to abortion in the state. Sen. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville, recently said he's "ready to end abortion altogether," through legislation that would challenge Roe v. Wade.
At the national level, Arkansas' U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman, both Republicans, reintroduced legislation that would ban abortions at 20 weeks of gestation.
Merritt said, "If you're going to say that you're pro-life, there's lives that you need to be 'pro' for."
Outside the room, about a dozen protesters rallied with signs reading "abortion is murder." There were no physical confrontations, and the abortion-rights rally's organizers urged attendees to leave quickly after the speeches were finished.
Today, the 41st annual March for Life will be held in Arkansas. That event focuses on remembering "the lives that have been lost [because of abortion] and just to remind us all that lives need to be protected," said Rose Mimms, the executive director of Arkansas Right to Life, the march's organizer.
Maria Meneses, the abortion-rights rally's emcee, urged participants not to acknowledge the abortion-opponents' rally and to focus on their own fight.
"We must fight for everyone and be intentional and accessible about it," the Little Rock college student and activist said. "When you walk out of these doors, keep your head held high and remember that you are fighting for your ancestors."
Metro on 01/20/2019