Milwaukee, WI – On Saturday, June 27 Reproductive Justice Action-Milwaukee (RJAM) commemorated four years of resistance after the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade. Community members gathered for a rally, march and vigil to honor the ongoing resistance and mourn the lives lost due to abortion bans.

The event began with crafts, thank-you card writing for abortion providers, and tabling by various community organizations fighting for safe and sustainable communities. Representatives from Pro-Choice MKE, Milwaukee Anti-War Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and ACLU of Wisconsin spoke to attendees about some of the issues that continue to face the reproductive justice movement in Milwaukee and beyond.

Some of the issues highlighted were the need for clinic escorts, safe access to abortion providers, and the fight for liberation of women and LGBTQ folks through a working class revolution. Andrea Waters from Freedom Road Socialist Organization shared, “We must fight for the liberation of women and LGBTQ people. This includes abortion access. This includes fair wages. This includes childcare for working parents.”

To close the event, organizers and community members marched on city hall for a vigil to honor the lives lost due to abortion bans. These deaths were not inevitable, but the result of politicians choosing ideology over evidence-based healthcare.

The vigil honored the following lives that were taken: Josseli Barnica, 28, Texas. Yeniifer Alvarez-Estrada Glick, 27, Texas. Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, Georgia. Candi Miller, 41, Georgia. Porsha Ngumezi, 35, Texas. Nevaeh Crain, 18, Texas. Taysha Wilkinson-Sowbyeski, 26, Indiana. Ciji Graham, 34, North Carolina. Tierra Walker, 37, Texas. Adrianna Smith, 30, Georgia.

Carly Klein, a founding member of Reproductive Justice Action- Milwaukee, stated, “Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee formed four years ago in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, with the support of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.”

Klein continued, “When the Supreme Court stripped us of our bodily autonomy and Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban was immediately reinstated, we knew that voting alone would not win back our rights. We knew it would take direct, sustained, organized action, and that is what we did.” The crowd cheered as she proclaimed, “In September 2023, abortion services resumed in the state of Wisconsin.”

RJAM understands and organizes around the fact that abortion access is not equitable. Carly went on to share. “Across this country, abortion bans have disproportionately harmed Black, brown, indigenous and working-class communities, Here in Wisconsin, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.”

To build safe and sustainable communities for all, we must work together to address these issues and bans.

As Reproductive Justice Action- Milwaukee celebrates their four years of resistance, they continue to fight for the liberation of women and LGBTQ folks by calling for an end to crisis pregnancy centers and the immediate restoration of gender-affirming care at Children’s Wisconsin. No rest while there is no Roe, and no rest until everyone has safe, affordable and equitable access to abortion.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #WomensMovement #ReproductiveRights #RJAM

St. Paul, MN – Around 50 people rallied outside Birthright, a crisis pregnancy center in Saint Paul the evening of Wednesday, June 24. The protest comes on the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. This decision ended federal abortion protection, thus leaving abortion regulation to the individual states. Birthright, the target of the protest, is a crisis pregnancy center. Crisis pregnancy centers are projects with the primary mission to block access to abortion services.

In Minnesota, abortion is legal, protected and accessible at all stages of pregnancy, but with neighboring states banning abortion outright, people are forced to travel to Minnesota, or carry out pregnancies against their will. Federal cuts to Medicaid have forced the closure of four Planned Parenthood locations in Minnesota (Alexandria, Bemidji, Richfield and Apple Valley). Planned Parenthood serves as the only providers of reproductive healthcare in some rural and underserved areas.

Aizar Cabrera of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee stated, “Today, we’re seeing children who have been kidnapped by ICE turn up pregnant due to sexual assault. These children have then been forcefully relocated to Texas, a state with some of the most strict abortion restrictions, only made possible after Roe v. Wade was repealed in 2022.” Cabrera is referring to over a dozen pregnant unaccompanied minors who were sent to a single facility located in the small border city of San Benito, Texas. “We know this is not a coincidence,” said Cabrera, in response to these pregnant minors being sent to a state with a total ban on abortion.

The rally was organized by the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump. Speakers at the event included members of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Twin Cities for Justice, the advocacy and organizing manager of Gender Justice, and a health care worker. All speakers talked about the need for bodily autonomy for all.

The rally ended with the crowd chanting, “We won’t back down from this fight – abortion is a human right!” Traffic on Snelling Avenue honked along, some in solidarity and some in disapproval of the crowd's plea for widespread protection of reproductive rights.

#StPaulMN #MN #WomensMovement #LGBTQ #ReproductiveRights #Abortion #RoeVWade

Milwaukee, WI – On Friday, May 29, members of Reproductive Justice Action-Milwaukee and dozens of community members gathered for a press conference and rally demanding that a local pediatric hospital, The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin (CHW), restore access to gender-affirming care.

Since December 2025, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin has denied trans youth access to life-saving gender-affirming care. Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin halted services due to the threats that the Trump administration made to retaliate against any health care facilities that provide gender-affirming care to youth.

The crowd chanted, “Kids need care, not legislation! Trans youth liberation!” and marched to the hospital. While gathered at a nearby park, the group heard speeches from community members directly impacted by the attacks on trans youth. 

Kelly Stewart, a mother whose child recently lost access to gender-affirming care services at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, stated, “As a parent, one of the most heartbreaking things I have experienced is the realization that my child's freedom to live, be known, loved, and valued for who they are, can be dictated by others in ignorant and cruel ways.”

Kelly asked the crowd, “When the largest hospital, that we entrust with our children's care, in Milwaukee submits in advance by suspending gender-affirming care, and gender-affirming care for all is under attack, what do families do?” and the crowd cheered, “We fight back!”

Jesse Goyette, a member of RJAM who received gender-affirming care from Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, shared his personal experiences within a flawed medical system.

Goyette stated, “When I was a teenager, I would have never expected that the situation would be worse now than it was when I was young.” Ryan Clancy, Wisconsin state assembly member and father of two trans children, discussed his experiences meeting with the hospital’s administration. He explained it was “one of the most frustrating conversations of my life.” Ryan asserted, “They made a concerted effort to run over trans kids.” He highlighted how hospital systems, like Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, continue to prioritize profits over care.

Eli Carroll, of RJAM, ended the rally by saying, “Just like anti-abortion organizations and lawmakers have politically pressured the current administration to remove or severely restrict access to abortion care, we see anti-trans organizations and lawmakers mimic the same strategy.”

Carroll continued, “RJAM recognizes these patterns for what they are, and will continue to be vigilant in all cases of humans being denied their bodily autonomy. We stand with the community in our collective effort to defend access to care, whether reproductive, gender-affirming, or otherwise- and stand with our partners to defend the right to access critical health care.”

​Reproductive Justice Action-Milwaukee plans to continue to fight alongside the youth and their families who have been impacted by the abrupt interruption in life-saving care. They call on supporters near and far to sign their petition demanding restoration of services at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #LGBTQ #WomensMovement #ReproductiveRights #RJAM

Milwaukee, WI – Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee (RJAM) organized an emergency rally to demand access to mifepristone, the abortion pill medication, on Monday, May 4.

After a recent appeals court ruling that would’ve banned the prescription of the pill through telehealth or mail order, Louisiana sued the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), attempting to reinstate mandatory in-person consultations to have the medication prescribed. The state claimed that mifepristone access undermines their abortion ban The Supreme Court blocked the suit temporarily, and the official decision will be made in the next week. The fight for bodily autonomy and reproductive health continues.

There is a slew of anti-abortion legal cases being pushed through courts nationwide.

Milwaukeeans still came together at a rally for abortion rights, with dozens of people gathering in downtown Milwaukee to call for access to mifepristone and chanting, “Not the courts, not the state, the people must decide their fate.”

RJAM hosted three speakers, then led some loud chanting on the corner of Red Arrow Park, their voices echoing through the city to nearby traffic, pedestrians and City Hall.

Abortion remains legal in Wisconsin, but there are only five abortion clinics, in the southeast region of the state and Madison, leaving the majority of the state and rural areas without services. Wisconsin also does not allow telehealth consultations for abortion, so their access is still very restricted. Meanwhile, the “pro-life” religious groups in Wisconsin operate 50-plus crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) around the state, working to deceive and deny women their rights.

The protest drew an energetic, multi-generational crowd.

RJAM kicked off the speeches with their founding member, Carly Klein, demanding, “Bodily autonomy for all. Unrestricted access to abortion care. Immediate mifepristone access. The right to telehealth abortion services. An end to politically motivated attacks on healthcare.” She added, “Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee will continue to organize, mobilize, and fight because our lives depend on it.”

Klein continued, “This has never been about safety. Mifepristone is one of the most studied medications in the United States and has been used safely by millions. Anti-abortion politicians continue to spread misinformation to justify control over our bodies and our healthcare decisions.”

Jo Fox from Planned Parenthood-Generation Action at UWM stated, “Attacks on mifepristone are a steppingstone to the end-goal: a no-exception ban on abortion access nationwide.” The crowd chanted back “That ain’t right!” Fox also spoke on the unnecessary barriers Wisconsinites face when trying to access care, including a two-visit minimum requirement, and a prohibition on advanced care practitioners (RNs, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) to provide abortion medications to patients.

Andrea Waters from Freedom Road Socialist Organization told the crowd, “Wealthy people in the ruling class will still find a way. They can travel, they can pay, and get private care.” While the working class cannot do so easily. She added, “Capitalism wants our labor, it wants our children’s future labor. It wants us to carry the burden of care while the state cuts services, bosses keep wages low, landlords raise the rent, and healthcare becomes more expensive. The super-exploitation of women has never been more clear.”

RJAM reminded us that abortion care is still available for now. Whether or not mifepristone stays legal, there is still another medication, misoprostol, that can induce abortion.

Abortion is healthcare and women, and the people, need unrestricted access to it, lest they return to the dark ages of back-alley abortions, or the situation in states where it is banned, leading to criminalization and death for the lack of abortion care. Reproductive justice for all, now.

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