On Oct. 2, upwards of 1,000 people gathered in Daley Plaza to protest the Texas Heartbeat Act, which bans abortions when cardiac activity is detected via an ultrasound, usually around six weeks of pregnancy.

The march was part of a national event with marches occurring in almost all 50 states. Chicago attendees listened as speakers talked about experiences with sexual assault and abortion. Attendees got t-shirts and posters from booths run by Planned Parenthood. Then, they marched down Clark Street toward Dearborn and made a circuit around the Loop. The entire demonstration lasted about three hours.

Senior Sofie Wheelock and her friends took the train to go to the protest.

Wheelock carried a sign reading “Keep your filthy laws off my silky drawers,” referencing the song “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” from “Grease.” Wheelock says the laws in Texas “set off a spark across the country,” and she felt like she “had to do something.”

Senior Matthew Tuhey said he went to the march because he “didn’t want the Texas abortion bills to happen in Illinois or anywhere else.”

Senior Mari Kodama, another march attendee, said she went to the march because “it was an issue that (I) really care about,” and that she “wanted to show (her) solidarity” with the women in Texas affected by the Texas Heartbeat Act.

The crowd at the march was diverse. Tuhey said he saw people “of all ages … groups of elderly people and young kids,” and Wheelock said “there were definitely more women there, but I did see a good number of guys.”

While everyone in the crowd came from different backgrounds and had different stories, they all came to support the legality of abortion.

Both Tuhey and Wheelock felt empowered by the march events. Wheelock said she felt “A lot of pride. It made me really happy to see so many people who recognized the importance of women being able to choose what happens to their bodies.”

Even though Kodama only stayed for the rally, she could tell “everyone there really cared about what they were there for” and the “energy was great.”

Tuhey said he felt like “everyone was there to support the cause.” He said his gender did affect his experience. “I just listened to their voices and what they had to say as opposed to me leading the charge,” said Tuhey.

Wheelock sums up her purpose of attending the march in a single sentence: “I just think that people who don’t have a female reproductive system should not be making laws for those who do.”