In one of the biggest demonstrations in US history, more than one million protesters crowded the National Mall this afternoon to show support for reproductive rights and opposition to Bush Administration policies on women’s health issues (things like making it virtually impossible for women to obtain the morning after pill, also known as emergency contraception, without a prescription).

Some 1,400 US groups endorsed and sent members to the event. And international contingents were strong as women joined the protest from nearly 60 countries, asserting that damage from Bush’s policies is spreading far beyond US shores through measures such as the ban on federal money for family-planning groups that promote or perform abortions abroad.

Check out the up-to-the-minute reports below on today’s historic show of support for reproductive freedom, click here to sign the Freedom of Choice Act petition, and click here to see how you can lend support to the abortion-rights movement.

Women’s Rights Marchers Gather in DC by Elizabeth Wolfe,The Guardian, April 26, 2004

Massive Protest Decries Bush Policies by Deborah Zabarenko,Reuters, April 26, 2004

NPR’s Weekend Editionlive from the march. Andrea Seabrook reporting.