'Fourth of July is canceled.' Framingham protesters target SCOTUS abortion ruling
FRAMINGHAM — Although sunny skies are in store for Independence Day on Monday, for many Americans there’s a pall over the revelry this year.
“This is a day celebrating independence and liberty,” said Framingham resident Esta Montano. But this year, “it’s not really a day where we can consider that we have our liberties intact.”
Starting at 9 a.m. Monday, Montano and others will participate in a protest in front of the Framingham District Court building on Concord Street (Route 126).
The protest is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversing Roe v. Wade on June 24, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for 49 years, no longer exists.
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Grace Snedden, who along with Montano is helping to organize the protest, summarized the event by saying, “Fourth of July is canceled.”
“We think it’s our responsibility to continue to fight for people, even if they don’t live in our state,” Snedden said in reference to Massachusetts' strong abortion rights laws. “We want to express that our community supports protecting the rights of people who can become pregnant — a show of force.”
Attendees are encouraged to wear black, Montano said, “as a show of distress and mourning.”
Snedden doesn’t have a background in organizing — but she knew that she and others would want to gather together and do something.
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Donating to Planned Parenthood and organizations that are helping with the issue — be it by helping people access medical care or through legislation — is one way, and protesting is another, Montano said.
Fundamental to the Roe v. Wade decision at the time was a person’s “right to privacy” —that a medical decision should be between a person and their doctor, not a person and their doctor and the state, at least to a point
As a teenager, Montano traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak out for abortion access.
“The fact that I have to do it again — at age 68 — it’s unconscionable,” she said.
Although states can legislate abortion access, there are now no federal safety nets in place for instances of rape, incest or medical emergencies like life-threatening infections or ectopic pregnancies, when fertilized eggs implant outside the uterus — which can lead to internal bleeding and death.
“This is an important date for most Americans, so when our rights are infringed upon — for any of us in America — it matters to all of us,” Snedden said. “There are a lot of people that care about this issue and it’s not going away.”
Lillian Eden can be reached at 617-459-6409 or leden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LillianWEden.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Protest July 4 in Framingham over SCOTUS overturns Roe v. Wade
