Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said the rally brought together people from across generations, communities, and even across the aisle.
Rep. Vanessa Grossl, a Republican from Georgetown, said there is "no greater liberty than the right to make your own healthcare decisions without a bureaucrat standing between you and your doctor."
Beshear, who offered brief video comments, said Kentuckians deserve healthcare with "no asterisks."
"Whether you're a woman, a person of color, or a member of our LGBTQ+ community, you deserve quality healthcare," the governor said. "And even more important, you deserve the freedom and the right to make your own choices about the healthcare you receive."
While state leaders have declined to create any new exceptions to Kentucky's near-total abortion ban, including in cases of rape or incest, reproductive rights advocates have worried the state is moving in the opposite direction — potentially making pregnancy a legal risk.
Among the bills advocates are watching is House Bill 646, which would criminalize the importation of pills used to induce abortion and allow anyone harmed by the pill to potentially sue distributors, prescribers, and manufacturers.
The bill follows an incident in early January when a Kentucky woman was charged with fetal homicide after taking abortion medication ordered online, before the charge was later dismissed with a prosecutor arguing state law exempted pregnant women from being charged with the crime.
"The chilling effect when people are arrested for pregnancy outcomes is profound, especially in a state with an abortion ban like Kentucky's because they don't know who they can talk to, who they can trust, if you have providers who are calling the police for pregnancy outcomes," Wieder added.
Abortion rights groups are backing a number of bills they say would reverse the trend toward further pregnancy-related restrictions.