It was impossible to miss the Toledo contingent gathered near the Washington Monument rallying to keep abortion legal in 1989, Participants from the Center for Choice hoisted a huge banner above their heads, a beacon for the hundreds of Ohioans searching for a gathering spot in a crowd of 300,000 people packing a mile-long stretch on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. In this April 1989 Blade Archive photo, demonstrators gathered at the National Mall for a morning rally under the banner, “Toledo says… Keep it Safe. Keep it legal.” The marchers were demanding preservation of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Roe vs Wade, which upheld the right to legal abortion. The march was coordinated by the National Organization for Women and was intended as a show of force to influence the high court and counter a conservative political surge. The landmark abortion case had been challenged in a Missouri abortion dispute, Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services. Later that month the court upheld the Missouri law, which stated that life began at conception, and forbade the use of public employees and facilities for abortions. Go to thebladevault.com/memories to purchase more historical photos taken by our award-winning staff of photographers, past and present, or to purchase combinations of stories and photos.
