At noon Saturday, Oct. 2, people from across Rutherford and surrounding counties took to the streets and Civic Plaza to rally and march to demand an end to the dangerous, escalating attacks on reproductive rights and freedoms in this country.

The action in Murfreesboro was organized by Women’s March Tennessee, Rutherford County Democrats, Elect Black Women PAC, Tennessee Equality Project, Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood, AAUW - Murfreesboro, and other community groups as part of the Nationwide Day of Action for Abortion Rights which will feature more than more than 600 events in all 50 states and D.C., nine of which are being held in Tennessee.

The marches come as the Supreme Court is set to begin oral arguments on Oct. 4 in a case that will determine the future of abortion rights for all Americans. The case challenges a Mississippi law, which bans most abortions after 15 weeks, significantly before fetal viability. A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative in the country, blocked enforcement of the law, finding it in conflict with Roe v. Wade and subsequent abortion decisions.