A small group of abortion advocates from Amarillo gathered Monday at the Potter County Courthouse to mourn the second anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and to discuss the opportunity to stand up for women’s right to to choose.
Jewel Taylor, the organizer of the rally, spoke about the impact of that decision on women’s rights.
“We are here for the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade being overturned on this date two years ago,” she said. “This is not an anniversary. We have come here to speak and give our opinion. As a woman in Texas, I don’t want to stop fighting to regain our rights, along with my sisters and brothers here. We show that we are still angry about the decision and that we will never stop fighting.”
She said she hopes women’s continued advocacy regarding the loss of their right to choose will have a long-term impact.
“We are not going to sit back and wait for our rights,” she added.
The gathering was one of many across the country this week to speak out against the repeal of the longstanding abortion ruling that has guided the law for half a century. The city of Amarillo has been embroiled in a year-long battle over an abortion travel ordinance that was voted down by the City Council just two weeks ago. The battle is not over with this decision, as it will probably go to the voters in November.
Among those at the meeting was Courtney Brown, whose organization, Amarillo Reproductive Freedom Alliance, led the fight against the ordinance.
“When we heard this decision two years ago, we cried and felt lost after women’s rights were taken away again,” she said. “This is a historically sad day, but also a day to join forces to talk about abortion and access to healthcare. This is about where we can go with this in the future, because the battle is not lost.”
Brown said her group knew this court ruling would not be the point where anti-abortion forces would stop, as evidenced by the push for abortion travel bans.
“We knew that with the Dodds decision, this wouldn’t stop at just being a state’s rights issue,” she said. “We knew these groups were going to go after birth control, IUDs, birth control and Plan B. They’re really just trying to take control of women’s lives and decisions.”
She emphasized that the push to make Amarillo a haven for the unborn has been a spark to fight this local measure, which has created unlikely allies due to its infringement on freedom.
“They wanted to make Amarillo a focal point in their fight to end drug abortion in the country,” she said. “It just goes to show that no matter how small the struggle seems, it can also affect bigger things. Our opposition to the ordinance also helped weaken the case for Johnathon Mitchell and Mark Lee Dickson when they tried to ban Mifepristone. They had no standing in their unconstitutional case brought before the Supreme Court.”
London said the court ruling inspired her group to take action.
“We are capable, strong women who decided to stand up and show that if we can do it, anyone can,” Brown added. “Amarillo is in the middle of the Panhandle with Interstate 40 and Interstate 27 leading to other states with abortion access. We knew this group would fight tooth and nail to make Amarillo a key part of their efforts to deny women the right to travel to make health care decisions.”
Jami Lyons of the Amarillo Women’s March said speaking out is a key to learning more about the state of women’s rights to health care. She said having a daughter inspired her to fight for her future.
“I decided a long time ago, when my daughter was born, that I would do everything I could to make sure she had choices in life. “Even if people consider us ineffective, I will still take to the streets to call for our rights. A community of women and supporters who believe in women’s healthcare are joining forces to make connections to deal with the hand we’ve been dealt, like organizing rallies today.”
Longtime Amarillo resident Claudia Stravato, 83, said that when Roe v Wade was repealed two years ago, she couldn’t believe the country had taken what she thought was a step backward.
“I couldn’t believe that we would have to go through this struggle again after all these years of working for autonomy over our own bodies,” she said. “Women have fought for so long to control our own fertility, and then suddenly the courts take it away. There was no priority for this decision, and they never explained it. I have never seen a court that ignores precedence like our current Supreme Court.”
Stravato said women must retake the fight they won half a century ago.
“We kind of knew from the games that the Republicans were playing with the Supreme Court confirmations that this was a possibility of happening,” Stravato added. “Now the new generation must fight for the rights we have fought for so long.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo pro-choice advocates rally on anniversary of Roe v Wade repeal
