On Thursday, January 17, 15 Reproaction activists gathered around the block from the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. The hotel was the official lodging spot for March for Life attendees, who had traveled from all over the country for the annual anti-abortion gathering. With the sun quickly setting, activists put on orange T-shirts that read “Stop Prosecuting Abortion” and began to walk to the front of the hotel where they passed ‘pro-life’ guests who were scattered on the street. As the activists rounded the corner, they lifted their signs to match the #StopProsecutingAbortion projection lighting up the side of the hotel.

The March for Life is a response to the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized the federal constitutional right to abortion. Since then, the pro-life movement’s goal has been to overturn Roe and make abortion illegal again.

As snow flurries began to fall, our activists took to the street chanting, “Roe v. Wade is here to stay!” March for Life guests quickly took notice, with a student group shouting at activists from across the street. Activists braved the opposition and weather to call for accountability for the pro-life movement’s true intentions: to prosecute abortion. We continued our chants through rush hour, receiving thumbs ups and honks from people passing by.

The action coincided with Reproaction’s launch of our new Stop Prosecuting Abortion campaign, which calls attention to what the pro-life movement means when they say that abortion should be illegal. In a new video, pro-life leaders call for women who self-manage their abortions to be prosecuted, and some even call for the death penalty.

Nobody should face punishment for having or supporting those who have abortions. Yet the logical consequence of making abortion illegal means throwing people in jail for their pregnancy outcomes. With the fate of Roe v. Wade in jeopardy at least 21 cases of people being arrested for self-managing their own abortions, it is time to demand accountability and take action.

You can learn more about how you can take action with Reproaction’s Stop Prosecuting Abortion campaign here.