Milwaukee protest demands restoration of abortion access
Milwaukee, WI – More than 50 people gathered in the sweltering heat on Sunday, June 15, at the North Point Water Tower in Milwaukee, demanding restoration of abortion access after the three-year anniversary of the Dobbs vs. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization decision. This extreme Supreme Court ruling in 2022 removed all federal protections for abortion, leaving the precedent for legality on a state-by-state basis. In turn, the rights to healthcare access are in a gray area everywhere, including Wisconsin.
“There's a lot of confusion for Wisconsinites. We found out there's a lot of people in the public that don't know the current legality of abortion in Wisconsin or that it's even being offered again,” said Blake Jones, chair of Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee (RJAM).
“While abortion is offered in Wisconsin up to 20 weeks, the actual legality of abortion is currently being reviewed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court based on an interpretation of an 1849 law protecting pregnant women from feticide,” remarked Cady Petralia, Outreach Chair of RJAM, “The reactionary Republican Party of Wisconsin has taken the opportunity to use this law as an argument to ban abortion. And of course, the people this affects most are the working class.”
Lo Cross, a member of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, highlighted the connection of abortion rights to police crimes against oppressed communities. “Black and brown women are incarcerated at higher rates for these anti-abortion laws, and it just shows how oppression takes form right before our eyes.”
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS-UWM) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) also spoke at the rally. “FRSO recognizes the need for a militant grassroots struggle for women’s and reproductive rights, led by the working class and marginalized and oppressed people,” said Carly Klein of FRSO.
After the rally at the North Point Water Tower, people gathered at Zao MKE Church to cool off from the extreme heat and to hear a panel on reproductive justice. Community members offered their perspectives on abortion and how to fight back after audience members submitted insightful questions which sparked great discussion.
Rhen Lutz of FRSO noted, “In response to Trump taking office we have been calling for a large, united front and FRSO aims to be a part of these movements and help build and strengthen them so that we have a winning chance against the acts of terror that we’ve witnessed already.”
“RJAM was formed in a Planned Parenthood parking lot after a group of people gathered the day Roe v. Wade was overturned. Since then, we have been fighting for abortion access through several campaigns, our most recent one being CPCs Out of MKE. RJAM is proof the power is with the people,” said Jones on the panel.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will make a decision any day which will either usher in a new age of reactionary policies for the bodily autonomy of women or provide relief for the abortion providers who have been operating during these uncertain times.
While the people of Wisconsin wait for their fate to access abortion, the people are determined to fight back no matter what the outcome. Abortion laws need to be protected to ensure safe and sustainable communities, and Roe v. Wade was the floor, the bare minimum. Even with federal abortion law protections, there are still many barriers to access healthcare, including a mandatory 24-hour waiting period in Wisconsin.