RALEIGH, N.C. — About 800 protesters showed up at the State Capitol to rally for safe and legal access to abortion on Saturday, joining a national call to action by the Women’s March movement.
What You Need To Know
A diverse group of about 800 people rallied at Bicentennial Plaza in support of abortion rights
They are demanding that the Senate pass the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021
A small group of counter-protesters were at the march to have their pro-life stance heard
"I saw, you know, white women, women of color, disabled women. Men. Just so many groups are represented today, and I'm so happy that people felt comfortable and safe enough to come out and protest,” said Tessa Chatain, a lead organizer with the Rally for Abortion Justice march.
After Texas passed the most restrictive abortion law in the country, many activists are frustrated with the Supreme Court, which is back in session for a new term in two days. They have real concerns that Roe v. Wade may be overturned.
North Carolina currently has several anti-abortion bills moving through the state legislature.
“We’re never going to be silent,” Chatain said. “The message I want to get out today: We are not going to stand idly by as legislators continue to put restrictions on women’s bodily autonomy.”
Activists are united in their cause. They are fighting to ensure that what happened in Texas does not become a blueprint to strip women of their reproductive rights in North Carolina or Georgia.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a Black woman is almost five times more likely to get an abortion than a white woman. Chatain, 22, is marching for access to abortion as a basic medical service that needs to be guaranteed to all women.
“I would say that usually the most under-resourced and under-valued places are places where women of color live,” Chatain said.
Abortion bans can be harmful to women who may not be able to leave their state for an abortion, such as immigrants or those from a lower socioeconomic status.
Longtime activists in North Carolina say that abortion has been under attack for years. Lori Bunton, 68, worries about what may happen when Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, leaves office.
“As soon as we lose people like Governor Cooper, we get somebody like a Ron DeSantis in office. North Carolina will be another state where women will have to leave to get safe reproductive health care,” said Bunton, Co-President of the ERA-NC Alliance. “We cannot relax.”
Activists like Chatain are urging the Senate to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021, which would guarantee a woman’s right to choose. Getting it through the Senate is unlikely, which is welcome news for pro-life activists. A small group of counter-protesters gathered at the rally to have their voices heard.
"It is so clear that abortion is not for women. Abortion hurts women. And I'm here to speak out against abortion because I am pro-woman and therefore pro-life," Lydia Taylor, 18, an organizer with Students for Life America said.
For Chatain, the fight will continue.
“We all know this is a lifelong fight for women. I think that the most important thing is to feel that the solidarity and the community is there. And we’re going to be able to safely protest and come out together in the future," she said.
The issue of abortion rights will return to the Supreme Court’s docket in early December.