University students, staff and community members gathered Sunday morning in front of Alma Mater in observance of Champaign-Urbana’s sixth annual Women’s March.

This year’s march was co-sponsored by the Myra Bradwell Association for Women Law Students and the University’s chapter of If/When/How and was organized in solidarity with the National Women’s March, which will take place on Saturday in Washington D.C.

Participants marched from Alma Mater to the Champaign County Courthouse and chanted, “My vote, my voice! My body, my choice!” while holding handmade signs inscribed with slogans including “Bans off our bodies” and “Respect our existence or expect resistance.”

In a speech addressing the crowd at Alma Mater, Illinois State Representative Carol Ammons, who represents the C-U area, said the impact of participation in events such as this one is not limited to reproductive health care.

“Let’s pour our hearts out on any issue that we care about, whether it’s ending gender-based violence, protecting reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, workers’ rights, immigrant rights, environmental justice or voting rights,” Ammons said. “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

Organizers of the event echoed this sentiment. Chloe Carpentier, president of the University’s chapter of If/When/How, said the debate surrounding Roe v. Wade does not stop at one issue.

“It’s about all reproductive rights for people who have uteruses, not just abortion,” Carpentier said. “What comes with (the Dobbs decision) is the fear that they are going to step toward contraception.”