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News and Views from the People's Struggle

womensMovement

By Lestat Clemmer

Minneapolis protest defends womens and reproductive rights.   | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – Around 50 people rallied for reproductive rights outside Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office on the brisk afternoon of Sunday, November 24. The Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC) organized the protest, which came at a pivotal time given the re-election of Donald Trump, whose first-term Supreme Court appointees voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Since the election, organizers with MNAAC have emphasized the need to take action against a familiar administration, one which promises to further do away with abortion rights. Addressing the situation in Minnesota, MNAAC member Maggie Moynihan told the crowd, “Clinics that offer real help and healthcare are few and far between in Minnesota, but the people who need their services are many.”

Organizers chose Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office as the location for the rally to draw attention to the bipartisan failures of politicians to codify abortion and to end the genocide in Palestine. While Klobuchar has a commendable track record speaking in favor of reproductive rights, she has failed to meaningfully pursue her campaign promise of “reinstating Roe.” She has also failed to uphold human rights at large, voting to continue military aid to Israel as recently as November 20.

Other groups at the protest included the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Climate Justice Committee and Anti-War Committee, as well as many supporters in the movement for women’s and reproductive rights.

While the rally primarily focused on the right to safe access to abortion, speakers also drew connections to the fight for a free Palestine. Crista Ocampo of the Anti-War Committee phrased this solidarity well, stating “The politicians who are sending bombs and military aid to uphold apartheid occupation are the same politicians who are stripping our rights away here in the states.” Ocampo went on to say, “It doesn’t matter if it’s here in the U.S. or in Gaza or the West Bank, when our rights are under attack, we will use everything we have to fight back.”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #WomensMovement #ReproductiveRights #Abortion #Trump #MNAAC

By staff

Crowd gathers holding signs.

Milwaukee, WI – Reproductive rights supporters took to the streets, Saturday, November 9. Roughly 300 people gathered to hear speeches and speak out against the outrageous abortion restrictions in Wisconsin and across the U.S. 

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

So, it happened. The racist, reactionary fool Donald Trump is returning to the White House, and Republicans will dominate Congress. The polarization of American political life is sharpening and deepening. Revolutionaries and progressives have some heavy lifting ahead of us.

There is going to be plenty of time to analyze what happened in the election, but on the morning after, some things are clear. The leadership and wealthy backers of the Democratic Party have only themselves to blame for the outcome. The Harris/Walz campaign was tone-deaf to the needs and aspirations of working people. In fact, the two words that they seemed unable to work into any of their speeches were “working class.” Instead, they offered a sad mixture of genocide in Palestine, combined with an appeal to college-educated, “never Trump” Republicans. And they failed.

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By June Gromis

Minneapolis vigil for Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, October 4, 30 abortion rights organizers, allies and community members gathered to mourn the deaths and celebrate the lives of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller. Thurman and Miller tragically passed away because they were unable to access lifesaving reproductive care, as a result of Georgia’s draconian anti-abortion laws. Their stories just recently came to light after the state’s maternal mortality review committee ruled both of their deaths preventable.

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Protesters rally against fake health clinic First Care in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Minneapolis, MN – On September 10, 40 people rallied to protest predatory anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy center” First Care. This marks the fifth protest of a First Care facility organized by the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC) as part of their campaign to expose the deceptive and manipulative practices of these facilities.

During the protest, Jay Belsito, a member of UnRestrict MN and Gender Justice, recalled their experience with an anti-abortion center as a pregnant teenager in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They were misled about how far along they were in their pregnancy and given fake ultrasound images, a common tactic used to prevent people from making informed choices about their bodies and their health.

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By Naomi Retherford

Washington, D.C. – On Saturday, September 14, hundreds of activists from across the country gathered at Union Station lawn for the Gender Liberation March. The action brought into coalition local organizations, East coast regional groups, and national forces from the queer liberation, reproductive justice, feminist and Black liberation movements.

Beginning at noon, the primary organizers of the march and some important local Washington organizations addressed the crowd.

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By Esper Garcia

Minnesotans marching at the RNC.  | Brad Sigal/Brad Sigal Photos

Minneapolis, MN – On July 15, the Coalition to March on the RNC successfully brought more than 3500 protesters together in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to protest against the racist, reactionary agenda of the Republican National Convention. 100 of these protesters arrived on coach buses from Minneapolis organized by the MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee and the MN Abortion Action Committee.

This convention is where Republican delegates met to choose their party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump, known for his anti-immigrant and misogynistic statements and policies. The thousands of protesters from around the nation marched within sight and sound of the convention center, thanks to the Coalition’s years-long fight against the city for a militant march route.

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By Ryan Hamann

More than 3500 march on the opening day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.  | Brad Sigal/Sigal Photos

Milwaukee, WI – After two years of work, the Coalition to March on the RNC culminated its efforts with a 3500-person rally and march on the opening day of the 2024 Republican National Convention. The Coalition was truly national in character, composed of more than 120 organizations representing all manner of social movements. The principle rallying cry of the broad united front was to fight against the racist and reactionary Republican agenda.

“The most visible figurehead of the Republican Party right now is Donald Trump, but we want to be clear: we are marching on the Republicans’ entire agenda. Our speakers today represent a broad movement against the entire Republican platform,” said Omar Flores, one of the co-chairs of the Coalition. “We are marching on every Republican state slashing funding for DEI initiatives in education, every Republican governor putting up more razor wire to militarize the Southwest border, every Republican voting for right-to-work bills, and every Republican signing bombs they are sending to Gaza.”

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By staff

Milwaukee march reproductive rights in preparation for mass protest at the RNC.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Milwaukee, WI – On Saturday, June 22, around 40 people gathered in the rain to bring attention to the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision voted on by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ended federal abortion protections.

Co-sponsored by Reproductive Justice Action – Milwaukee (RJAM) and the Coalition to March on the RNC, the crowd gathered for several riveting speeches from members of the community, and marched on the Fiserv Forum, where the Republican National Convention is set to happen in a few weeks’ time.

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By Robyn Harbison and Kristen Bledsoe

Minneapolis, MN—On June 13, members of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC) and their allies gathered for an emergency rally after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on mifepristone. Mifepristone is one of the two drugs commonly used for medication abortion. The ruling affects women and others’ healthcare across the entire country.

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