Lizette Trujillo traveled 2,000 miles from Tucson, Arizona to Washington, D.C. for the Gender Liberation March, motivated by her desire to fight for bodily autonomy.
“It’s really important because, yes, I’m the mother of a transgender child, but I [also] had an abortion at 22, had a miscarriage at 40. Having bodily autonomy and access to care that is widely necessary for you is really, really important,” says Trujillo, 44. “And the thought of my child, my son, not having access to the care that’s necessary for him, is something that is terrifying.”
Trujillo was one of approximately 2,000 people who participated in the march, which united activists advocating for both abortion rights and transgender rights. The march coincided with the introduction of over 650 anti-trans bills in local legislatures in 2024 and the ongoing assault on abortion access. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion rights have been restricted in several states. Currently, 14 states have abortion bans in place, and the issue is on the ballot in 10 states in November.
“Our abortion stories and our trans stories are connected and intertwined. We cannot liberate abortion without trans justice,” Renee Bracey Sherman, executive director of We Testify, a nonprofit that shares abortion stories, stated during her speech at the march.
The march organizers deliberately linked the two issues. “The idea was to bring together the energy stoked in the fight for abortion access and reproductive justice, and also the energy put into fighting for queer and trans folks who are facing attacks on access to health care,” Raquel Willis, a transgender activist and co-organizer of the march, explained in an interview with TIME prior to the event. Eliel Cruz, another co-organizer, argues that limiting access to abortion and gender-affirming care is part of a larger movement to reinforce gender binaries and discriminate against individuals based on their identity.
This connection is already being recognized in legal proceedings. “Both the government and the other entities that are defending government restrictions on medical care are using, in this moment, Dobbs in particular… to justify attacks on gender-affirming medical care, and then use an expansive reading of the Court’s decision in Dobbs in order to open the door to more restrictions on bodily autonomy more generally,” explains Chase Strangio, Deputy Director for Transgender Justice at the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project. Strangio will be arguing before the Supreme Court this fall in one such case: U.S. v. Skrmetti, which addresses a Tennessee law prohibiting access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
Daniel Trujillo, Lizette’s 17-year-old son and the organizer of the march, expressed excitement about reuniting with other trans teens and families at the march. However, he is also apprehensive about the potential implications of the upcoming Supreme Court case. “It makes it scary when it comes to trying to think about my college, things that are just in the near future,” he says. “What does that all look like?”
Against this national backdrop, the march provided a sense of safety for some and an opportunity to rally with accepting individuals. Jair Codines, a 28-year-old resident of North Carolina who recently began their transition, traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for their right to continue their transition. “I will always fight for justice, for the truth, and for our rights,” Codines, who arrived at the march with a group of 20 predominantly Latina women, stated in Spanish.
At the march, participants gathered in designated areas for trans youth and explored tents distributing banned books. Hundreds, if not more, of pride and trans flags were displayed on posters, banners, pins, and t-shirts. Trujillo’s spouse painted a scene featuring iconic transgender figures – Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major, and Janet Mock – positioned near the center stage to honor the activists who paved the way for this generation. “Trans rights are human rights,” chanted marchers dressed in white as they walked near the Supreme Court and the headquarters of the Heritage Foundation. “Liberation for my sister, liberation for my brother.” The all-white attire was a tribute to previous protests against anti-Black violence, such as the Million Man March, and the marchers also wore purple, pink, and white flower crowns in remembrance of transgender rights advocate Marsha P. Johnson.
The overall mood of the day was determined yet optimistic. “This is another glimpse into the future,” says Daniel Trujillo. “We’re all going to live and be celebrated and thrive together in public life and schools and bathrooms and our homes safely.”
