Milwaukee, WI – On May 7, the Milwaukee International Women’s Day Coalition hosted an action to support reproductive rights and defend Roe v. Wade from the attack by the Supreme Court.

Over 1000 people turned out for the rally and march. The action started at Planned Parenthood and ended at the Milwaukee Federal Court building where Ron Johnson’s office is located. Johnson is an anti-choice U.S. Senator from Wisconsin.

Decorah Gordon, a member of the executive board of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council and the A. Philip Randolph Institute, spoke at the start of the rally. “Our human rights are no longer up for debate,” Gordon said, “therefore, keep your bans off of our bodies!”

A speaker from Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Piper Hogan, stated, “Capitalists have a vested interest in taking away reproductive freedom, because they rely on us to provide them with new workers- especially after they just allowed a million of us to die from COVID. The truth is that only socialism can pave the way for the liberation of women and all people who can give birth.”

The initial rally transitioned into a march that filled the streets with supporters and their banners and signs. Chants of “Keep abortion safe and legal!” and “Abortion rights are here to stay!” sounded off the high-rise buildings of downtown Milwaukee. Many people hurried to join the march as it passed. Once the more than 1000 people reached the Milwaukee Federal Court building, those in attendance were treated to several more speakers.

“If this were simply a matter of voting for this to happen, it would've happened already, and we would've had the legislation,” said Aurelia Ceja, representing Milwaukee’s International Women’s Day Coalition, “so we're not thinking that the fight isn't something we're going to win by asking politicians, it's something we're going to win by showing up.”

Organizations such as the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin, Students for a Democratic Society – UWM, and many more joined in the action to show that Milwaukee is willing to stand up and fight against those who want to take away a person’s right to choose.

This was not the first rally that the Milwaukee International Women’s Day Coalition helped to host since the Supreme Court’s leaked majority opinion report, having been involved with an action on May 4. It won’t be the last either as another rally is being planned for May 14 in alignment with a national day of action called for by the political arm of Planned Parenthood.

#MilwaukeeWI #LGBTQ #PeoplesStruggles #SupremeCourt #abortion #RoeVWade