‘In this for the long haul’: Hundreds of people defending abortion march in Raleigh
As the news of a possible ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade reverberated across the country, hundreds of protesters marched in downtown Raleigh to denounce a historic development that could lead to further restrictions on abortion in North Carolina.
A draft of the high court’s majority opinion in a pending case concerning a Mississippi law that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy was published by Politico on Monday night.
In the draft ruling, which does not represent a final decision by the court and is still subject to changes, Justice Samuel Alito, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006, wrote that Roe and a subsequent decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, “must be overruled,” and that “it is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Protest organizer Dana Alhasan, an activist with a local chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said she started planning for a demonstration as soon as she read the draft ruling on Monday night, which she said had been leaked by a “heroic individual.” The next morning, her organization and other pro-abortion rights groups, including the Triangle Abortion Access Coalition, began circulating information on social media about the protest.
Hundreds of people showed up Tuesday evening, many carrying signs that said “abortion access is a human right, “keep abortion safe + legal” and “mind your own uterus.” Demonstrators gathered at the intersection of Hargett and Wilmington streets before 6 p.m. and stood on each corner of the intersection, cheering loudly as people driving by appeared to sound their horns in support.
Alhasan said she felt compelled to act quickly to help people voice their strong opposition to the possible ruling from the Supreme Court, which would represent a dramatic reversal of precedent that has been in place for nearly 50 years. But, she said, activists are preparing for a longer fight ahead.
“We know that this is a long fight and that we are in this for the long haul, and that we’re not only going to be here today but be here every single day to demand legalized abortion,” Alhasan said.
After about a half hour, organizers led the crowd of several hundred people on a march throughout downtown Raleigh. Officers with the Raleigh Police Department maintained a presence from the periphery of the large crowd, which stretched almost the length of a full city block, and had blocked off certain streets to traffic so that demonstrators could make their way.
The crowd marched for more than 45 minutes, walking past restaurants as bystanders watched from the sidewalks. At one point the crowd walked past the Wake County Justice Center. With a microphone, organizers led the crowd in a series of chants that filled up the streets, including “pro-life is a lie, you don’t care if people die” and “the people united, will never be defeated.”
Damon Chetson, a criminal defense lawyer challenging Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman in the upcoming Democratic primary, joined the march and handed out campaign cards to protesters, telling them that he would not prosecute abortion cases if elected, and if North Carolina lawmakers were to pass legislation making the procedure illegal.
After completing a loop of downtown, the crowd finished the march in Moore Square, where they listened to a few speeches by activists.
Mary Tienken, 55, who marched alongside her daughter, said she grew up in a religious Roman Catholic family on Long Island and was opposed to abortion for much of her life, until complications with her pregnancy required her to have an abortion or face dangerous health risks, which she said was “a very difficult decision.”
“I think, if it was outlawed, what could have happened to me. No one, no one should go without safe alternatives,” said Tienken, who now lives in Sanford. “Nobody wants to just jump up and say ‘hey, I want to get an abortion,’ but I do think that it’s a necessary thing. We should never lose rights, only gain them.”
Still a fan of the New York Mets, Tienken said she was watching them face off against the Atlanta Braves on Monday night when she heard about the Supreme Court’s “disturbing” draft ruling.
“We’ve got a broken system, but taking this away is not going to help anything,” Tienken said of the potential of Roe being overturned. “It’ll make it much worse, much more unsafe.”
