SAN FRANCISCO — While walking through the city on Saturday morning among thousands of people, Nancy Calibo couldn’t believe she still needed to protest for abortion rights.
The procession, spanning nearly two blocks near Calibo City’s Civic Center Plaza, was one of dozens of gatherings in the Bay Area and across the country sparked by a leaked Supreme Court’s draft ruling, Roe v. Wade, the case that almost 50 years ago guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion.
Frustrated and desperate by the potential end of federal abortion protection, the 72-year-old remembers turning 18 and making the toughest decision of her life not to end a surprise pregnancy, delaying her dreams for college until her 40s. Do it so that he can raise a child instead.
“It was a blessing to have my daughter, but she knows that the decision to have her was one I didn’t have,” said Calibo, who gave birth a few years before the court’s landmark ruling in 1973. Supportive family and not everyone does – I wish everyone had that option.
The March for Reproductive Justice in San Francisco was one of hundreds of events across the country that included Bay Area marches in San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Oakland, Pacific and Brentwood, and major gatherings in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Washington, DC, where protesters march from the Washington Monument to the Supreme Court.
Women’s rights advocates nationwide have reacted with fury to a leaked draft of the Supreme Court vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, when it issues a much-anticipated decision next month on the Mississippi law that follows 15 weeks. Most bans abortion. Nearly half of the country’s states have indicated that they will ban the practice altogether if the court’s decision becomes final.
Marchers in San Francisco held signs that “The Supreme Court has failed the people” and “Get your laws out of my body!” As the majority of the audience rejoiced and a small number of counter-protesters used megaphones to declare abortion a murder.
Los Altos resident Kasi Freeman, 14, made a sign with the image of a coat hanger and the phrase “we’re not going back on this.” She said the inspiration came from learning about the history of unsafe abortions performed by women in places where the practice is illegal.
“I don’t want to grow up in a country where I don’t have ownership of my own body,” Kasi said.
Lawmakers in California are beginning to work to strengthen the state’s “abortion sanctuary” status, with Governor Gavin Newsom in a budget proposal this week for $125 million to strengthen abortion access and those women. Separately supported legislation to subsidize abortions for those who cannot afford them.
After the decision leaked, the governor tweeted that the state would “fight like hell” to protect abortion rights, while Bay Area leaders held town halls with Planned Parenthood officials to figure out the area’s next steps. Started. With 36 clinics from the Bay Area to Bakersfield, Planned Parenthood is welcoming dozens of women seeking abortions from Mar Monte, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia and Texas, where restrictions are already in place.
Political experts believe the leaked decision could spark a blue wave in midterm elections in California and other states, with Democrats at risk of losing control of Congress.
“There’s definitely some galvanization around this issue politically — people are very excited,” said Ivy Cargill, a political science professor at Cal State Bakersfield, noting that there are large rallies around abortion rights in the more conservative Central Valley. It was happening too. “Maybe more people are going to focus on politics and come out to vote.”
In January, thousands of anti-abortion advocates arrived in San Francisco on buses from other parts of California to hold an annual anti-abortion rally in the city. Meanwhile, protests at Planned Parenthood clinics around the area have increased in numbers, prompting city officials in Walnut Creek to create buffer zones that keep protesters away from people entering the facility.
Friends for Life Tri-Valley, a local group that organizes protests at Planned Parenthood locations, said the group would continue its efforts to persuade women seeking abortions in California to reconsider.
“The best activism is the one that lovingly presents the truth of science, and empowers women to know the life-giving choices they make for themselves and their children,” the group’s leadership said in an email.
Meanwhile, activists in California are calling on the state to strengthen sex education curricula so that young women who become pregnant can understand their options. At Saturday’s rally, a local activist said the goals of the agitation could not be limited to polling stations only.
“It’s not just about voting out of the blue,” said Christina Lee, a San Francisco resident and organizer of the Movement for Reproductive Justice. “We need a movement that is people-led to defend abortion. The Democrats are out on hand… and I don’t trust the Supreme Court to defend my rights, so I have to take to the streets.” You will have to ask for them yourself.
