SAN FRANCISCO – Chanting for “legal abortion on demand,” thousands of people took to Bay Area streets Friday night to protest the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade.
Across San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, protesters decried an end to nearly fifty years of legal precedent that had allowed women to safely seek an abortion across the United States since 1973. In doing so, they joined abortion rights advocates across the nation in grieving the end of one era in American life, while vowing to win back those rights in the years to come.
As many as 3,000 people participated in a two-mile march across San Francisco on Friday evening, chanting “not the church, not the state — women will decide our fate,” while holding signs declaring “I dissent,” and “keep your rosaries off my ovaries.” At least two other protests against the Supreme Court’s decision also sprung up in the city — a show of solidary that stifled traffic as marchers crisscrossed downtown.
Honey Mahogany, a candidate for the San Francisco District 6 supervisor’s seat, vowed “we will not stand for it” before a crowd at the Phillips Burton Federal Building.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m pissed off,” Mahogany said. “But we don’t have time to grieve.”
She implored the crowd to organize politically.
“We have to elect pro-choice candidates,” Mahogany said. “What they have done is poked a bear.”
Members of March for Our Lives joined several abortion-rights groups spoke at the protest, which was organized by the National Movement for Reproductive Rights. Many held signs saying “abortion saves human lives,” and “I wish I could abort my government.” Some spoke publicly about their own abortions — including a 17-year-old girl who attended the rally just hours after ending her 4-week pregnancy.
Sasha Rockwell, who is 26 weeks pregnant, said she was grateful she had the choice to keep her baby. She lamented that women in many states would now be forced to continue their pregnancies.
“We need to fight for our next generation,” Rockwell said.
The reversal of Roe showed that the Republican Party is “holding America hostage,” said 17-year-old Cal Kinoshita. But the March for Our Lives organizer also lampooned Democrats.
“They are just as much at fault for being lazy,” Cal said.
Dozens of protesters sat down in the intersection of Market and 8th streets after protest organizers called for an act of civil disobedience. They remained there for 49 minutes — one for each year that abortion was legal across the United States — to show “San Francisco is a pro-choice town.” No arrests were reported at the sit-in, which ended when protesters continued marching toward the Embarcadero.
Sitting in the intersection, Theresa Martin, 58, of Marin County, said she was “shocked but not surprised” by the ruling.
“I’m disappointed in the Supreme Court and how it got stacked against human rights,” Martin said.
But Martin said the turnout for the protest showed “people care about women” and other marginalized groups.
“This is where you find your power,” Martin said.
Cynthia McMurry, 36, of Berkeley, also sat down in the intersection with her husband and son. McMurry, who is pregnant, called the ruling “fundamentally undemocratic.”
“I’ve always held onto this belief we were making gradual progress,” McMurry said. “Days like this really shake that belief.”
Protests were also held Friday night in Oakland, San Jose and other Bay Area cities. A rally outside City Hall in San Jose began with 30 participants but quickly tripled in size.
Growing up in the 1970s, 43-year-old San Jose resident Heather Valentine recalled her mother openly talking about feminism and bringing her out to march in the streets.
“I remember thinking, ‘I cannot imagine living in a world like that, and thank God that will never happen,’ which obviously was so naive of me to assume,” Valentine said. “I think it was hard for people to see the big picture and to see where everything was headed.”
Now working as a therapist, Valentine said that not feeling in control of your own body can lead to a sense of doom and anxiety that doesn’t fade. But if people try to only work past those negative emotions, Valentine fears they will instead become numb to this type of news – fueling her motivation to protest outside San Jose City Hall.
“If we act like it is normal or don’t show up, then more and more things are just gonna get passed,” she said. “One of the best pieces of advice I could give is to really try to figure out what your focus is and be kind to yourself. … Don’t give up hope, because democracy dies in darkness.”
Jesus Ruiz attended the San Jose protest with his partner, Eonis, and their young child.
Ruiz, 35, said he was there to support his partner’s freedom of choice and to help ensure a future of autonomy for his family, especially as he fears the ruling will disproportionately impact people of color.
But what can he do to help? Ruiz said his role is to show up and speak out against patriarchal ideas influencing the nation’s laws.
“I think fulfilling our role as men is to call out other men that are trying to tell other women what to do,” Ruiz said. “Everybody has the right to do what they wish with their bodies, and it’s about what is right, not what is legal. At the end of the day, we can’t confuse the two.”
Abortion remains legal in California, but the overturn of Roe is expected to lead to full or partial abortion bans in more than half of the states in the country. Experts anticipate California will see an influx of women coming from out of state to get the procedure.
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1666, which aims to protect those in California from civil liability for providing, aiding or receiving abortions in California.
According to the governor’s office, lawmakers in Missouri are advancing a proposal that would allow private citizens to sue Missouri residents who have an abortion out of state. Texas, meanwhile, has already enacted a six-week ban on abortion with a private right of action enabling individuals to sue abortion providers and others.
“With today’s Supreme Court decision to endanger the health and safety of millions of women across the country, California must do everything it can to protect the fundamental rights of all women – in California and beyond,” Newsom said in a statement.
The legislation, Newsom said, “sends a clear message that California will continue to be a safe haven for all women seeking reproductive health care services in our state.”
Those women were top of mind for Madeleine Lepere, 34. Holding her own sign reading “Reproductive Justice for All,” she recalled getting an abortion while living in Massachusetts — a life-changing decision that allowed her to go to grad school and later move to San Francisco. “To think that people now are not able to get that is horrifying,” she said.
Still, she wished even more people had turned out Friday to rally against the Supreme Court’s decision and to show solidary with women living in states where access to abortion vanished overnight. That’s because the fight to restore those rights, she said, is only just beginning.
“It is even more important people keep showing up,” she said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com