‘Like we’re going backwards’: Raleigh, Durham protesters oppose Texas anti-abortion law

Protesters in Raleigh and Durham joined demonstrations around the nation Saturday in rallying against restrictive anti-abortion laws in Texas and advocating for reproductive rights.

Raleigh’s “Rally for Abortion Justice” brought hundreds of people to Bicentennial Plaza.

The protest was organized by a coalition of local advocacy groups — including the ACLU of North Carolina, El Pueblo Inc., Muslim Women For, NARAL Pro-Choice NC, National Association of Social Workers North Carolina, NC Now, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, PSL Carolinas, SisterSong and Triangle Abortion Access Coalition.

The Texas law, which was passed in May and went into effect in September, prohibits abortions after a fetal “heartbeat” is detected — as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

The law allows private citizens, no matter where they live, to sue abortion providers and others in Texas who assist someone in getting an abortion after that point, regardless of whether they have a personal connection to the situation.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the law. The court will hear oral arguments for another major abortion case in December.

Lela Ali, an organizer of the Saturday protest and a co-founder of Muslim Women For, said she was “outraged” by the “inaction of the Supreme Court.”

“(But) it didn’t feel unfamiliar,” she said. “As people and communities living in the South, these are the types of fights that we often have to fight every year.”

In Durham, demonstrators gathered at CCB Plaza at 1 p.m., before marching across the city.

The event was organized by the Durham chapter of the Women’s March.

‘A huge step backwards for women’

Cries of “My body, my choice,” echoed through the Raleigh plaza Saturday, and were met with supportive honks from passing drivers as marchers rounded the state’s General Assembly building.

Donna Phillips, 45, said she and her husband had traveled from Nash County to join the demonstrations.

“This is a huge step backwards for women,” she said. “We have two daughters. We’re fighting for them, for us, for everyone.”

Phillips said she fears what the law could mean for her daughters, who are 17 and 21.

“It brought me to tears,” she said of the Texas law. “Most women don’t even know they’re pregnant at six weeks.”

Darcey Moore, 63, and Gayle Grigson, 72, both of Chatham County said they both fought for abortion access more than 50 years ago.

“It’s sad! It’s sad!” Moore said of having to protest again in 2021.

The two women wore red cloaks in a reference to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a dystopian book and TV series in which women are treated as property.

“It’s like we’re going backwards,” Grigson said. “Countries like Ireland and Mexico have finally approved abortion for women, and here we are in the United States going backwards.”

Grigson, a Texas native, said her family in the state was in Austin on Saturday protesting.

Grigson and Moore, who both have daughters, said they worry about how the laws could impact them in their lifetimes.

“I no longer can have a child,” Moore said. “(Young people) are at risk. That’s why we’re here.”

“I didn’t see that in the ‘70s, much men out there helping, escorting women into abortion clinics,” she added. “It’s very nice here to see that change.”

Jacob Delos Santos, 17, said the Saturday protest made him feel empowered to try to effect change locally.

“It’s really important that everyone — not just women — go out and show our support for the rights for people to have abortions,” he said.

Delos Santos added he was surprised by the level of turnout.

“We live in the South,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting this much showing up and speaking up.”

‘Indescribably awful’

After the march, protesters gathered again in Bicentennial Plaza, where speakers from the different organizing groups advocated for legislative change.

Matthew Zerden, an OBGYN and associate medical director at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, called the Texas law “cruel and inhumane.”

“The situation in Texas is indescribably awful,” he said. “Thousands of patients are in need of abortion care.”

Zerden said he had recently provided care for a 16-year-old high school student who became pregnant after a condom broke and an emergency contraceptive pill was not effective.

As a minor, she had to obtain a judge’s order when her parents did not approve of the procedure, as dictated by state law, he said. She also had to wait the mandated 72-hour period before moving forward with the abortion.

At the end of the process, she received the abortion while just over seven weeks pregnant.

In Texas, she would have been denied the service, Zerden said.

“This is why your vote matters,” he said. “This is why your presence here today matters, and this is why your passion matters.”

Iliana Santillan, executive director of El Pueblo, shared her own abortion story with the Saturday crowd.

“There was so much chaos in my life,” she said of herself at 19. “I was on birth control, but in that chaos, I missed a few pills, missed a period and got pregnant.”

It was 2003, and Santillan said abortion laws were less restrictive then in Washington than they are today in North Carolina.

“There was no 72-hour waiting period, or ultrasound,” she said. “There were no pictures of babies or families. Nothing to make me feel guilty about the choice I had made.”

She said the medical team who gave her care was kind at every step of the process.

“I felt as if they weren’t seeing me as a sinner or someone who is evil,” Santillan said. ”But as a human being who needed kindness.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2021 at 2:48 PM.