WASHINGTON—Defenders of a woman’s right to choose abortion rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court building Jan. 23 to mark the 39th anniversary of the court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which decriminalized abortion. “I am becoming more of a fighter to defend abortion rights by becoming more visible,” said Tirza Cannon, 29, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Cannon joined about 90 others at the vigil, which was organized by the National Organization for Women. Earlier in the day thousands of opponents of a woman’s right to choose took part in a national mobilization here.

—GLOVA SCOTT