Saint Paul, MN – On March 14, operating on short notice, organizers with the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC), workers from the reproductive justice movement and their supporters held an emergency protest outside a private event where Vice President Kamala Harris was set to speak on reproductive freedom.

Protesters gathered outside the venue with banners and signs, chanting to passersby in an effort to call attention to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, its particular impact on Palestinian women and girls, and Vice President Harris’s role in funding Israel’s military operations.

Over 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, 70% of them said to be women and children, with many more missing under rubble from destroyed buildings. These attacks have included strikes and raids on hospitals, aid centers, schools, places of worship, refugee camps and countless civilian homes. Due to the collapse of the medical system in Gaza, women are undergoing Cesarean sections without anesthesia, miscarriages have increased by 300%, and women and girls are struggling to manage their menstrual health with no access to period products. The World Health Organization agreed in November 2023 that women and children are bearing the brunt of Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

“I'm here today as a Jew and a worker in the reproductive justice movement because I'm devastated by the way that the current administration is touting their alleged support for abortion access while funding an urgent reproductive justice crisis in Palestine,” said Leah Soule, a reproductive health worker and a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. “My reproductive justice and Jewish values call me to stand up to oppose the U.S. funding of genocide in Gaza and build a liberated world where all people can have access to abortion, pregnancy care and also to safe and sustainable communities to raise their families in.”

Vice President Harris visited the Twin Cities as a part of her “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, during the course of which she has been met with consistent protests, including at her stop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in January.

The Biden-Harris administration has made abortion and contraception access part of their campaign platform but has been reluctant to embrace the demand of grassroots abortion rights activists, and avoid the use of the word “abortion” in their campaign speeches. Meanwhile, the United States under the Biden administration continues to send weapons and military aid to Israel, propping up their genocidal campaign in Gaza.

“I’m tired of having my right to an abortion held over my head while bombs continue to fall on Gaza,” said Kristen Bledsoe, an organizer with MNAAC. “As a result of the decisions of the Biden-Harris administration, Palestinian women and girls are experiencing horrific suffering, and we’re here to let Kamala Harris know that the reproductive rights movement stands with Palestine.”

While heavy police presence and Secret Service personnel created a barrier between protesters and the venue, participants were not deterred, loudly chanting “Bodily autonomy means Palestine will be free!” and “We want abortion on demand! Not genocide and stolen land!” to the support of honking cars.

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