Amarillo pro-choice advocates rally on anniversary of Roe v Wade repeal
A small group of Amarillo pro-choice advocates gathered at the Potter County Courthouse Monday to bemoan the second anniversary of the overturning of Roe v Wade and to speak about activation to fight for a woman’s right to choose.
Jewel Taylor, the rally organizer, spoke about the impact of that decision on women’s rights.
“We are here for the anniversary of Roe vs Wade being overturned two years ago on this date,” she said. “This is not a celebratory anniversary. We came here to speak and give our views. As a woman in Texas, I do not want to stop fighting to regain our rights with my sisters and brothers out here. We are showing that we are still pissed off about the decision and that we will never stop fighting.”
She said she hopes that women’s continued advocacy regarding the loss of their right to choose will have a long-term impact.
“We are not going just to lay down and take it as we continue to strive for our rights,” she added.
This rally was among many across the nation this week speaking out against the repeal of the long-standing ruling on abortion, which guided the law for half a century. The city of Amarillo has been in a yearlong battle over an abortion travel ordinance, which was voted down by the council just two weeks ago. With this decision, the battle is not done because it will likely head to the voters in November.
Among those present at the rally was Courtney Brown, whose organization, Amarillo Reproductive Freedom Alliance, led the fight against the ordinance.
“When we heard this decision two years ago, we cried and felt lost after women’s rights were once again taken away,” she said. “This is a historic sad day but also a day to rally the forces to talk about abortion and healthcare access. This is about where we can go in the future with this because the battle is not lost.”
Brown said her group knew this court decision was not going to be where anti-abortion forces were going to stop, as evidenced by the push for abortion travel bans.
“We knew that with the Dodds decision, this was not going to stop at a state’s rights issue,” she said. “We knew that these groups would go after birth control, IUD, contraception, and Plan B. They are really just trying to take control of women’s lives and decisions.”
She stressed that the push to make Amarillo a sanctuary city for the unborn has been a spark to fight this local measure, which has created unlikely allies with its infringement on freedom.
“They were looking to make Amarillo a flashpoint in their battle to stop medication abortion in the nation,” she said. “It just goes to show that no matter how small the battle might seem, it could also affect bigger things. Our pushback with the ordinance also helped to weaken the case for Johnathon Mitchell and Mark Lee Dickson as they sought to ban Mifepristone. They had no standing in their unconstitutional case brought before the Supreme Court.”
London said the court’s ruling inspired her group to take action.
“We are capable, strong women that decided to step up and show that if we can do it, anybody can,” Brown added. “Amarillo is right in the middle of the Panhandle with Interstate 40 and Interstate 27 roads leading to other states with abortion access. We knew this group would fight tooth and nail to make Amarillo a key part of their efforts to take away women’s rights to travel to make health care decisions.”
Jami Lyons of the Amarillo Women’s March said that speaking out is a key to educating more about the plight for women’s rights to healthcare. She said that having a daughter inspired her to fight for her future.
“I decided a long time ago when my daughter was born, that I would do everything to make sure she has choices in life. “Even if people see us as ineffective, I will still be out there calling for our rights on the streets. A community of women and supporters who believe in women’s healthcare are banding together to make connections to deal with the hand we have been dealt, like putting on rallies today.”
Longtime Amarillo resident 83-year-old Claudia Stravato said that when Roe v Wade was repealed two years ago she could not believe the country had taken what she thought was a step backwards.
“I could not believe we were going to have to go through this struggle again after all those years of working to have autonomy over our own bodies,” she said. “Women struggled for so long to control our own fertility and then all of a sudden, the court takes it away. There was no precedence for this decision, and they never explained it. I have never seen a court that ignores precedence like our current Supreme Court.”
Stravato said women must again take up the fight they won a half-century ago.
“We sort of knew with the games that Republicans were playing with Supreme Court confirmations that this was a possibility to happen,” Stravato added. “Now the new generation has to fight for the rights that we fought for so long.”
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