BOISE, Idaho — It was a busy day in front of the steps of the Idaho Capitol Building as two different rallies held marches Saturday; the Boise March for Life and the Idaho Women's March.
Hundreds of people from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State came to the Statehouse to make sure their voices were heard.
"Our goal is to help women and empower women," Heather Lawless, the founder/CEO of Reliance Center in Lewiston and a speaker at the Boise March for Life said. "Knowing there are other people in the community and other people in Idaho that want to do the same – love women, empower them to make healthy choices – it gives us encouragement to keep going."
"The main point of this is just to get people to unite together and talk about issues that concern women, specifically in Idaho," Yvonne Shen, a co-founder of Idaho Asian American Pacific Islander Youth Alliance and a speaker at the Idaho Women's March said.
The 49th Boise March for Life started Saturday's events off at 1 p.m. at Julia Davis Park in Boise, where crowds of people marched to the Capitol.
The Right to Life Idaho helps organize this event every year on Jan. 22 for the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States. In a news release, organizers added that this march "commemorates the over 60 million unborn children that have been lost since the infamous Supreme Court ruling."
Lawless said this year's rally is especially important for her and others with similar beliefs because a decision is expected this year with Dobbs v. Jackson, the lawsuit challenging a Mississippi law banning abortion after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
"Our goal is to make sure that the mom, the dad and the family know they are just as loved as the baby is," Lawless said. "We don't just want to eliminate abortion; we want to eliminate the need for abortion so women don't feel they have to make that choice."
Later Saturday at 4 p.m., more Idahoans gathered in front of the Statehouse for a different rally; the annual Idaho Women's March. Organizers said this year's march was focused on the future generation of leaders in women's advocacy. They add that its events are an inclusive, non-partisan gathering of women and supporters that focus on empowering voices.
"We are all here for one cause and hopefully, we can unite and let that bring us all together and use that power to create change," Shen said.
Highlighting injustice among sexes at Saturday's women's rally was a goal of 14-year-old Shen. She said this was her first time at the Idaho Women's March and she felt honored to ask to speak in front of the crowd. Shen said she got more involved in rallies and used her voice to spark conversations after the rise in anti-Asian attacks in the past year.
"As women, we are literally taught to be afraid in this world just so that we can protect ourselves," Shen said. "We are kind of taught to have to be afraid of all men in order to protect ourselves, which is not fair to anyone at all."
The Women's March opted to walk on the sidewalk around the State Capitol building, instead of marching through Downtown Boise like in past years.
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