More than 1,000 people gathered Feb. 20 on the Virginia State Capitol grounds in Richmond to protest a series of anti-abortion measures before the legislature. They “formed a human cordon through which legislators walked before yesterday’s floor sessions,” Associated Press reported the next day.

Among the bills before the legislature is a measure that would force women seeking an abortion to undergo a mandatory invasive ultrasound examination at their own expense.

The action was organized on short notice. “The Capitol ground rules say that we cannot assemble, hold signs, chant, yell or protest,” organizers wrote on a Facebook page established to build the protest, so the picket was silent. Many at the picket wore hand-printed shirts protesting the bill.

The legislature postponed voting on the bill the day of and the day after the protest. Gov. Robert McDonnell, who had originally said he would sign the bill if it passed, now says he will “review” it.

—JOHN STUDER